The Counter Culture of LVE
by Nobody Odd
Summary: In the midst of the raging war, a new, manufactured drug crafted by the Earl called "LVE"  starts wreaking havoc on what little soldiers the human race has. The drug is banned, but Allen, a soldier-in-training, mysteriously winds up with some, igniting something he didn't think would happen . . . AU
1. Wedding Song

**Nobody Odd here. I decided to write something that popped into my head and my girlfriend told me to write. I'm not sure if it is as amazing as she claims, but I am willing to try it out. Story Notes: AU, Rated T, stars Allen. Please, do enjoy. All titles of the chapters are based on Anais Mitchell's "Hadestown." It is the best album ever. Just saying.**

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is Katsura Hoshino's. I cannot even fathom having the rights.**

One: Wedding Song

Staring in the mirror, he couldn't take his eyes off the deformed, mangled arm strapped to his shoulder. Its many veins bulged with every breath he drew. The fingernails were black, as if coated with midnight's nail polish, but midnight had nothing to do with it. On the back of the mangled arm's hand stood out a cross embellishment, as if someone nailed it onto him awhile back. His teeth bit down on his lower lip as he stared at the black, glinting deformity. Every morning, he considered taking the scissors in his other hand and stabbing the arm until it fell off.

Every morning, he decided to hide it instead, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of white gloves, regardless if the sun was sweltering and the humidity threatened to melt his skin off.

That morning, however, he continued to stare at the arm, a cleaver in his other hand. He didn't want to look at it anymore. He didn't want it to control his life anymore. The cleaver's blade looked sharp enough, able to hack through flesh and bone. He bit his lip harder, nearly puncturing it. The blade quivered in his hand, as shaky as his breath. Trying to summon up his resolve, he pressed the blade against the junction of his shoulder and arm, feeling the cool metal send a shiver down his spine. He inhaled, then dropped the cleaver, which clattered into the sink.

The arm won again.

His body wracked as he covered his eyes with his hand, breaths becoming small hiccups and whimpers. His foster father, when he was alive, told him that the deformed arm was a gift, separating him out from other people with something special. Now, with him dead, he could only see it as grotesque as most people would see it. What was special about being warped? What was special about being something almost inhuman? He couldn't fight with a deformed arm.

He slapped himself, forcing the tears back. Men do not cry. He sniffed, faced the mirror one more time, then proceeded to brush his teeth. He didn't bother moving the cleaver first; every time he spit out the toothpaste, he imagined cursing himself for being such a coward.

With a swift rustle of clothes, he buttoned up his shirt, strapped on his gloves, pulled up his jeans and tied on his shoes. Regardless if he failed, he still had school to attend. He shoved his textbooks into his bag, alongside his finished homework, and put the bag onto the couch. Glancing over to the kitchen, his stomach growled, though his appetite, like most mornings, vanished like his resolve. Instead, he packed a larger lunch than normal, and decided to make up for it later.

He turned off the lights, fed the dog his foster father left him, then, with a heft of his bag, left the house, locking the door behind him. Rain greeted him by splashing onto his hair. Hurrying, he ran across the street and around the corner of the convenience store. He gave a quick "hello" to the owner, who was pulling his crates inside the building. He ignored the puddles that his boots collided against, soaking the hem of his jeans. The rain pelted harder just as he pushed open the double doors, stumbling inside.

"Allen!"

"You looked _soaked_, man."

He leaned against the wall, happy to be out of the rain. His two acquaintances, Lenalee Lee and Lavi, both approached him with curious eyes. Lenalee shrugged off her jacket and dried off his hair with a few quick scruffs. "Why didn't you take the bus?" she asked, tilting her head as her jacket withdrew. "It stops by your house, you know."

"Allen never takes the bus," Lavi explained with a wave of his hand. "Let it rain or snow, or even hail, and he'll still walk. I think it's 'cause he sleeps in late. Which reminds me." He reached into his back pocket and handed both Lenalee and Allen a paper. "We have a school meeting this morning, so classes are cut shorter. Awesome, huh? Who's skipping it with me?"

"Lavi!" Lenalee shook her head. "You're not supposed to skip out on school meetings. They're important!"

Allen glanced over the paper. "What is it about?"

"The newest drug on the market, I think." Lavi fiddled with his bandana, grin stretching out his face. "Stronger than bath salts, even. It's been hushed down in the news by the police 'cause it's so bad. The side-effects are apparently unreal, so the school's telling everyone about it so they can stay away from it."

"If it is hushed about," Allen said with a raise of his eyebrow, "then how do you know about it?"

The bell rang as Lavi just smiled. He was weary of that "because-I-know-everything" smile. His acquaintance was always getting into trouble, be it with knowing too much or purposely setting out to say something upsetting. Once, as he recalled, while in the middle of an English test, Lavi rose his hand in the middle of it and had a question that often merited a death warrant:

"Sir, it's been bugging me, but what does the word _friend_ mean?"

He got suspended for a week. Allen never expected to see Lavi back in school, but sure enough, he returned with a wide grin, along with that devilish twinkle in his eye. He couldn't fathom asking about old words, words once used in the past as casually as the word "war," yet Lavi could ask anything without hesitation. So if it made him nervous when he saw that glint in Lavi's eye, knowing something that nobody else knew, he knew he was justified.

"Lenalee," he murmured, "are we really going to skip out on the assembly with him?"

She shook her head. "I know I'm not, and I doubt he's being serious. Skipping something as important as this is just asking for an expulsion, if not worse. Remember what happened to Suman Dark? The government turned him into a test experiment for betraying the war's cause, and he died in the midst of it. I don't want that to happen to me, and I doubt Lavi will let that happen either."

She led him to the auditorium, pushing through the swarm of students filing in through the checkpoint. Allen pulled out his student ID for the guard, and they allowed him entry. Guards stood by every window, guns strapped to their bodies, eyes covered by masks. That was his future, just like everyone else within the building, besides the retired-military teachers. No name, no identity; just another number with a full range of weapons hanging off of him. Maybe then he could stop hiding his deformity, because no one would care.

Lenalee patted the chair next to her, motioning for him to sit down. He looked around the auditorium for familiar red hair, wondering if he truly did skip, but he spotted Lavi chatting with an older man in the corner of the room. Sighing, he relaxed in his seat, waiting for the speakers to get up to the podium. The old man Lavi spoke to approached the microphone, standing on the pedestal. Even from sitting close to the back, he could see the scars on the old man's face, hidden by some dabs of make-up. The old man tapped the microphone, glancing about the many faces staring at him.

"Good morning, future soldiers," he began, then paused, continuing upon looking at the guards by the windows, "present soldiers," then paused once more, eyes landing on some teachers, "and past soldiers. My fellow comrades, there is a new destructive force that the enemy has snuck through into our country. It's threatening everyone, young and old, and could tear our effort apart, despite its small size. I ask of you, all of you, to pay close attention for the knowledge I am about to bestow upon you."

Whispers started up, classmate upon classmate giving one another furrowed glances of confusion. Lenalee spun one of her pigtails around her fingers, distracting Allen from paying attention, though she looked nervous. "What is it?" he whispered.

"I think Lavi was right," she said, shaking her head. "It must be a new drug that the Millennium Earl manufactured to tear us apart. How awful. We're already losing bad enough as is."

Allen started to reassure her somehow, to tell her that they would win, not the Earl, but the old man started to speak again. "It's smaller than your average pill, about the size of a child's fingernail, and is ingested. It's color is often red, but also comes in dark blue or black. Inside the capsule is a liquid, which devastates the mind. Common side-effects of someone ingesting this drug is giddiness, elevated heart rate, clammy hands, decreased judgment. In higher doses, it causes the addict to become attached to people, clingy, even. Users enjoy touching other people," a gasp went through the crowd, "and could even procreate for pleasure."

Eyes widened, gasps became drawn out, and cries to burn it, to kill every addict of the newfound drug within the country. Lavi sat down next to Lenalee in the midst of the outburst, grinning at the both of them. "See?" he said, shrugging. "I was right. Of course, they're not telling us everything, but from what the old guy's saying, it sounds like a new weapon of the Earl. That guy will do anything to make us lose."

Lenalee's face turned pale. "Will it really tear the country apart?"

"Can't say. They haven't seen many cases of it yet. But from what they know, it's possible that the drug will seep into everyone, becoming a contagious feeling, and distract us completely from the war, leaving us wide open for enemy attack." Lavi's face became serious, grin dropping into a frown. "Hate to say it, but something that small could kill us all."

Allen looked around at his other classmates. Some were becoming hysterical, others appeared solemn. The old man tapped the microphone, creating a loud screech going through the room. A few remained unfazed by the sound—the teachers and the guards—but all of the students clasped their hands over their ears. Silence followed; no one dared to move. The old man's eyes narrowed. "There is nothing to fear, future comrades," he said, tone flat, "because we are not going to allow another creation of the Millennium Earl to destroy us all. Though we are down now, we can rise up from our defeats and use a newfound morale to finally end this two-hundred year war.

"That said, for the sake of our country, for the sake of our future generations, if you see anyone, regardless of who they are, abusing this curse from the Millennium Earl, you must report it to an officer, or a commander, but it is best for a general to be informed. The sooner we can eliminate those who decided to commit treason against us, the sooner we can kill the Earl.

"I thank you for your attention today. If anyone has questions, ask me, or your teachers. Now, disperse to your classes; your country, your race, is counting on you."

x~X~x

He didn't know how long the war was. Two, maybe three, hundred years. The human race kept dying off, no matter how hard they pursued in beating the Earl and his massive army. The walls built up high came crashing down with a simple barrage of, as the textbooks say, "Hell's demons." He never saw one of these demons before, and he was afraid to ask what fighting one was like. To keep up, the government mandated that everyone growing up will be trained at an early age to become a soldier. Since parents became too attached to their cannon fodder, everyone had to be raised by adoptive parents, who taught the children the ropes.

Later, foster parents became foster parents by the draw of a number. Egg and sperm donors were chosen this way, too. No one knew the parents of any soldier. It didn't matter, in the long run. The average lifespan of a soldier, despite all the training, was twenty-one. If a soldier was lucky, getting through the twenty years of required service, then he or she could pursue in becoming a teacher, or a supplier of the army, or raise a new soldier. Those who had a disability became trained in the sciences, aiding the government in the creation of new weapons. Everyone had a role, and no one could disobey without paying a penalty, such as being subjected to experimentation.

Everything was to defeat the "Hell's demons" leader, the Millennium Earl, who apparently lived since Noah's flood in the Old Testament of some book he never bothered to read.

He watched Lenalee fire several rounds of her shotgun into the target, one bullet hitting where the head would be, a few in the shoulders, and one in the stomach. She pulled the noise-canceling earmuffs off her head and turned towards him. "You want to shoot a few rounds?"

"No, thank you."

Her pigtails tilted with her head. "Is something the matter, Allen? Normally, you would shoot with me. But you've been spacing out all afternoon. Have you eaten anything? To stay strong, you need to eat."

"I know." He gripped his deformed arm. "I know. I'm just not hungry."

She stared at him for awhile, gun resting by her side, then put on the earmuffs again and continued to shoot. The doors to the practice room slid open, and Lavi stepped into the room, chewing on an energy bar. Allen waved, and he waved back, grinning. He glanced over to Lenalee, then snuck up behind her before Allen could warn him, covering her eyes as she fired another round.

"_Gah!_" She dropped the gun, making it discharge as she slammed an elbow against Lavi's stomach. He coughed, but grabbed her forearm in the process, trying to make her stop. Instead, it provoked her further. She twisted her arm back, then grasped her assailant by his shoulder while swiftly kicking both shins. He toppled onto the floor, letting out a grunt, as she grabbed the gun and pressed the barrel against his chin, finger wrapped around the trigger.

"Shit, Lenalee! It's just me!" He rose his hands in surrender. "It's me!"

She stared at him, finger twitching around the trigger, then sighed, putting on the safety before standing up. Allen sighed in relief, only to be shocked again when she used the gun as a bludgeoning tool to hit Lavi repeatedly on the shoulder. "_How_" whack "_many_" thud "_times_" double-whack "_have I told you_" double-thud "_not to do that!_" She huffed as she left him to groan after her assault. Allen blinked. He never saw Lenalee react so strongly to Lavi's troublesome antics. She placed the gun on the rack before jabbing a finger at the redhead. "I could've shot you on accident! That's dangerous!"

"Hey, I said sorry. Right, Allen?"

"Do not get me involved in this." He almost cracked a smile at Lavi's pout. "Where have you been, anyway? You are much later getting here than normal."

"Oh, yeah . . ." Lavi glanced about, eyes not landing on anything in particular. "Well, you know how I turn eighteen in August? The teachers think I'll be ready to become a full-blown soldier by then, and want to ship me to the battlegrounds. I was with them, discussing the options."

"That's wonderful!" Lenalee smiled. "You'll be the youngest soldier ever! Everyone has to be nineteen before they get their license. You should be proud, Lavi!"

Allen watched as the redhead's smile failed to match her enthusiasm. "Yeah," he said. She continued to congratulate him, though Allen doubted Lavi really wanted to fight. He was too much of a lighthearted person, too smart to be wasted in a war. But the government didn't make any exceptions. He wondered, in the back of his head, if they would allow him in with his problem. His thoughts didn't wander far as Lavi sat next to him, followed by Lenalee.

"Putting that aside," he said, "you know that assembly earlier? With that drug?"

She shuddered, as if it were terrible to even mention it. "The Earl is truly evil," she said, eyes downcast. "How did he even think of that?"

"I don't know. Forget that for now. After the assembly, I was talking to the old guy. The drug has a secret name, a name derived originally from Latin, which eventually evolved to an Indo-European word with a root shared by Sanskrit, which means it came from a Germanic language . . ." He paused. "Whoops, sorry, I was getting into way too many logistics there. Anyway, in Old English, it was called lufu, but the current translation is, get this, 'Love.'"

Silence followed. Lenalee coughed a little. "Which means . . . what exactly?"

"I do not understand, either." Lavi looked at Allen with an exasperated expression. "Not everyone is a genius, Lavi. We do not know what that word means, so could you stop keeping us in the dark?"

Groaning, the redhead hoisted his bag and dumped out its contents. Old books spilled out onto the floor, pages revealing strange characters and old words. He picked up one of the books, which had a picture of planet Earth on the cover. Splitting the covers apart, Lavi rifled through the pages, fingers trailing down the ink. "Love," he murmured, "love, love . . . ah! Here it is: 'Love. Noun. 1.) An intense feeling of affection. a.) a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. b.) a great interest and pleasure in something. Verb form: feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone or something. . .'"

Lenalee swatted the book out of his hands. Allen and Lavi both blinked, startled by her sudden attack. She picked it up off the floor and took it into the shooting range. With a cover of earmuffs, with the gun's safety off, she shot the book three times before coming back out. "I," she said, tossing the destroyed book onto the floor, "will not hear anymore of the Earl's tricks stuffed into propaganda. The drug, the word, it makes no difference to me. If it will stop us from winning the war, then I want nothing to do with it!"

She put the gun back, then, with her face hidden from view, fled from the training room. Allen started to say something, but Lavi shook his head, grabbing his shoulder to stop him from following her. "I pushed too hard," he said, sighing. "It's strange, really, to be trained to fear the words we created, claiming them to be the Earl's weapon. There has to be a reason why they call it 'love.' At least, that's what I think."

He stood up, and, giving a wave to Allen, followed her out of the room. He stayed behind, gaze steady at the door, until it shifted towards the now-damaged book. The bullets punctured through the planet, making the covers bleed in paper and ink. He opened the book, letting the bullets clink onto the floor, as he looked up the bizarre word one more time. Even with three shots embedded in the book, the word remained there, clear as day: "Love."

Was it really a word the Earl crafted? It sounded so innocent. He sounded it out, murmuring it repeatedly, letting the 'l' roll off his tongue, followed by the other three letters. Was he breaking the rules? Gasping, he closed the book and tossed it aside, thankful that he was wearing gloves to hide his fingerprints. The last thing he wanted to do was get in trouble.

He discarded the book into the trash before leaving the shooting range. He didn't bother to look for Lenalee or Lavi to say goodbye; they were probably fighting, as they usually did, because of whatever Lavi did. His bag slung over his shoulder as he walked the same path as he did that morning, only with the sun beating down his back. His stomach growled again, telling him he forgot to eat lunch. He shoved his hands in his pockets to ignore the hungry lion within.

Then he pulled his hands out, surprised that something was in there. Confused, he looked at a metallic foil, enshrouding four tablets. His face paled upon recognition of the letters on the pills, beaming in bright red. Shaking, he shoved them back into his pocket, looking around to see if anyone saw, but no one else was on the street. Only the sunset-bathed trees were his witnesses as he quickly walked home. The 'o' was omitted, but it still rang clear to what it was, and how much trouble he would be in if anyone found out:

"_LVE_"

~X~

I'll answer this question ahead of time. Yes, Lavi has two eyes. There is a good reason for this. Aside from that, I do hope you'll continue to read, as I will continue to write. If you're so inclined, please leave a review; anything to make me write better would be great. See you next time! {Nobody Odd}


	2. Epic Part One

**The reason this is updated so quick is because of you all (nine reviews? Uh) and my girlfriend. I wouldn't say I am a whipped man, but . . . uh . . . enjoy the story! Hah, hah, hah . . .**

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man isn't mine.**

Two: Epic (Part One)

He didn't eat anything when he got home. In fact, he didn't remember doing anything except dropping his bag by the door, pushing by his dog and going into his room, where he emptied his pockets' contents: mechanical pencil lead, old candy wrappers, and, to his dismay, the drug that his school just told him to avoid. For hours he stared at the metal foil, trying to think of numerous ways to dispose of them, then trying to think how he got them in the first place. He rocked back and forth, eyebrows furrowed and teeth biting into his forefinger. By the time he looked up to check the time, the alarm clock was blaring, telling him to get ready to go.

The drug sat on the nightstand as he forced himself to take a shower. The water didn't soothe him any, so he ended the shower quick and dried himself off. His eyes landed on the mirror, though he didn't look at his arm. Instead, his own face scared him—his cheeks were hollowed, and his face was abnormally pale. His white hair didn't make him look any healthier. He had to tell someone. Lenalee? She would shriek about him becoming the Earl's agent, despite how long they knew each other. Lavi? No, he already knew too much about everything. So it had to be his own little secret.

He couldn't keep it, that much he knew. If he kept it, eventually a general would search his house and discover the red pills. How to get rid of it, then? Burning it would be suspicious, and he certainly couldn't ingest them, not even four times just to make them disappear. He could flush them, but the sewer systems were monitored by security cameras in case the enemy decided to sneak in that way. He didn't know how much of his DNA was on the foil, so he couldn't just leave it behind somewhere. He needed to get rid of his own DNA.

"Pass it on to someone else," he said aloud, startling himself.

The whole problem aroused because someone gave it to him. So he just had to figure out who to give it to, someone the world could do without, someone he hated and equally hated him. It was a terrible thought, but it only seemed terrible for a moment when he knew who he could give it to. The jerk who kept calling him short, the jerk who threatened everyone who crossed his path, the jerk named Kanda. No one would miss him.

"What am I thinking?" Allen shook his head. "Even if he _is_ a jerk, he does not deserve a betrayal such as that."

He mulled it over as he ate, trying to think of any other options. They made forcing the problem on Kanda look much more desirable. Scarfing down the twelfth bowl of Cheerios, he slammed the bowl onto the table, wiping the milk residue away from his face with his sleeve. All he knew was that Kanda was a jerk, and he could get rid of his problem by using the ponytailed ass. He dumped his bowl into the sink before heading back to his room, where the sun crept through the glass to peer at the aluminum foil. He stuffed it in his pocket, hefted his bag over his shoulder, fed the dog again, then left the house.

The sun gave color even to the school's windows, despite how black they normally looked. The towers jutted into the sky, guards hiding within them in case an enemy attack stormed upon them. He stepped up the stairs, pulling out his ID to the guard standing by the door, who allowed him entry once more. No one greeted him in the lobby; unfamiliar faces of other classmates crowded near the door, talking about normal things: favorite types of guns, where the weak-points of a demon were, and, of course, the new buzz of the latest drug. He avoided glances aimed his way and found himself on the first floor hall. Vending machines made his stomach growl, despite how much he ate earlier.

He spotted Lavi leaning near the phone, watching other students pass by. One of his eyes had a bruise forming around it, and the way he clutched his side made Allen wonder how badly Lenalee hurt him this time.

"Hey, Allen!" He waved, though much weaker than normal. "You look like hell, man. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Uh," he started, wondering how to answer. He chose to ignore it. "Never mind that. I was curious if you have seen Kanda at all?"

"What?" Lavi gripped his side harder as he chuckled. "You want to see Yuu-chan? Did you hit your head or something last night?" Allen, as hard it was, kept his face straight to show his acquaintance how serious he was. "Okay, okay, all joking aside, I saw him go downstairs, probably to train in the gym. That guy never takes a break. Why're you asking, though?"

"I need to ask him something." He left Lavi before he could probe further.

The gymnasium had the brightest lights in the school, and was the safest place to be in case of an assault. No one visited it that often, except when they had to. Cobwebs clung to the beams as spiders skittered upon him opening the creaking door. One of the lights flickered overhead as he walked onto the tiled floor. His steps had a small echo. The room gave him shivers as he looked around the room. Hacked hay dummies spread themselves out, bleeding fiber. He wanted to call out, to see if someone was there, but the squeaks of rats made him turn suddenly, making his words clam up in his throat.

"_Hah!_"

He jumped again, eyes wildly searching for the source of the sound. The blade came first, brilliant silver shimmering in the light, a sign that it was taken care of regularly. Black hair whipped about with the wielder's movements as multiple training dummies fell around his feet. The wielder wore a blindfold, though he continued to locate all the practice enemies as if he developed a third eye, only covered by his bangs. The blade stopped halfway through a swing, nicking another dummy at its neck.

"Who's there?"

The tone was as bitter as forcing down medicine that tasted of vegetables. Allen cleared his throat, as if it would make himself sound more intimidating. "I was only observing," he said, "and I heard that this was a good place to train, so I decided to give it a try."

With a blink, he found the sword pointing at his forehead, with the man's eyes, no longer obstructed by the blindfold, narrowing in on him. "_Che._ That raspy, British tenor could only be from the damned _Moyashi_. Get the fuck out of my way. This is my territory, and I don't share it with anyone."

Allen gritted his teeth. "This building does not belong to just you, Kanda. And for the last time, my name is _Allen,_ not 'bean sprout' or whatever that means."

Kanda snorted. "Brats like you don't belong in a war. You'll wind up dead in less than five minutes out on the front lines." He turned his back on him as he sheathed his sword. "If only I could be so lucky so I can finally get rid of you once and for all. Maybe it could go under 'accidental friendly fire.'"

"Is that a threat?"

"More like a promise."

His attitude brought out a snarl from Allen. Why exactly did he feel bad for giving the drug to this man in the first place? "Well, sorry, but I do not intend on dying anytime soon, especially from the likes of _you_."

A retort made him mad, but being ignored completely angered him. Kanda proceeded to pick up his gym bag and go through the doors into the boys' locker room without saying a word. The door shut behind him, leaving Allen behind in the gym. His upper lip continued to twitch, eyes glaring at the door. "Jerk," he said with a growl, then looked at the bench beside the door, where Kanda's jacket lay. He looked at the door, ensuring that he wasn't coming out quickly, then took the drugs out of his pocket. He reached for the jacket . . .

"Allen!"

His reach stumbled, making the tablets clatter against the floor. He spun around, plastering a desperate smile as Lenalee and Lavi approached him. He quickly kicked the packet back underneath the bench, hoping neither of them noticed, especially the ever-observant eyes of Lavi. "Hi," he managed, though his voice squeaked up a notch.

"What are you doing down here?" She looked at the jacket. "Were you training with Kanda? That doesn't sound like something you'd do. Where is he, anyway?"

"In the locker room." Allen glanced at Lavi, making sure he wasn't looking for anything out of the ordinary. "He threatened to kill me, then left. Why are you two down here? I thought you would have to study for a test or something like that, or finish some homework for that matter. Besides, you two are not talking to one another, right?"

Lavi shook his head. "I apologized, so we reconciled, as they say. She beat me up pretty good, as she always did, and I deserved it. I should apologize to you, telling you things like that, such as that word. I'll never mention it again, I _swear_. If I do, you have full permission to beat me in any way you please. Just make sure you spare my face, okay? I need that to make expressions."

The locker room door opened, and Kanda emerged with a scowl on his face. "_Che_. First the _Moyashi_ shows up, then his stupid-ass lackeys follow him. I guess this place is now compromised. Time to find a new training spot. Move, _Moyashi_." He shoved Allen out of the way and grabbed his jacket, putting it on almost all the way before he paused. Allen felt his lips shrivel when Kanda bent down and picked up the package hiding beneath the bench. "I try to keep this place clean, and no matter what I fucking do, it always ends up in a mess again . . . wait, what the hell are these?"

Lavi snatched the packet out of his hands, making Allen's heart drop into his stomach. "These aren't what I think they are, are they?"

Lenalee took a moment before her jaw became agape. "It _is!_ Oh my God, someone brought it into our school! What are we gonna do? One of us is now with the Earl! We have to tell someone immediately, maybe General Yeegar."

"_Che._ These weren't here earlier." All three looked at Kanda with wide eyes, all for different reasons. "I know this because I clean the gym every morning as part of my training, and that includes underneath the benches. Which means one of you three," he jabbed his finger at the group, "brought this damn thing with you."

Both Lenalee and Lavi turned slowly towards Allen's direction, who started to back up slowly with his hands stretched forward. "Wait, no," he said, stammering, "no, it was not me, I swear, it is not mine, you have to believe me!"

"Allen," Lavi started.

"I can explain!" He felt the beads of sweat run down the side of face, as if his brain were crying. "It really . . . they are not mine, they are not! When I was returning home, I found them in my pocket, and I do not know where they appeared from! Please, I am not a heretic, please, please, I am so sorry!"

He didn't know what looks they had on their faces. He covered his eyes with his hands, wishing he never found them in the first place. Whoever framed him, whoever set him up, he wished he had the heart to curse him or her to Hell. The silence began to unnerve him; what were they thinking? Were they going to give him up to a general, where he would be put in prison, and then later subjected to experimentation? A shiver ran down his spine recalling Lenalee's story about Suman Dark, the one who betrayed the war. He didn't want to become an experiment. Despite his problem, he trained as hard as he could for their side, not the Earl's.

But who was going to believe him now? His stomach churned as acid boiled in his throat, making him want to throw up, but he couldn't move. His own thoughts petrified him in place, his blood sluggishly turning into concrete, keeping his legs still. Someone sighed, and his heart turned to lead, barely able to beat from how heavy it felt. Whispers followed, then a low growl and a minor gasp. He wanted to sink to his knees, to beg for mercy, but the cement circulated to his throat, keeping his words stuck.

"Chin up, Allen." Lavi's voice chimed like it normally did, as if nothing transpired in the past few minutes. "You look like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown. We're not going to tell on you. Well, me and Lenalee won't, but Yuu-chan—"

"I told you to stop calling me that, _Baka Usagi!_"

"—is a different story, though I think he won't tell, either." He gave Kanda a sheepish grin to the man's narrowed eyes, which were sharp enough to go through the jelly like substances and pierce through the redhead's brain. "Since you look pretty scared, we all, for the most part, agreed to keep quiet on this, 'kay?" He looked over to Lenalee as he said that, and she visibly shrank a little. Allen wondered if there were any truths behind Lavi's words, after all. "So long as you, and the rest of us, promise not to touch it or experiment with it, everything should be just _fine_." He grinned again. "Right, gang?"

Lenalee twirled one of her ponytails, looking to the small window that barely rose above ground-level. "Right," she said with a slow nod. "Right. We believe in you, Allen. I don't think you're an agent of the Earl or anything like that. Just hide those vile things away, lock them up, then toss the key. I don't even want to _imagine_ what harmful effects are in them."

"_Che._" Kanda folded his arms across his chest, back turned to everyone. "Do whatever the hell you want. If it doesn't bother me or involve me, I won't care. Just leave me the hell out of whatever this is, and, for the love of whatever religious symbol you care for, _get the hell out of my training spot!_"

The other three jumped a little as he stormed off, his rage-filled aura scaring even the mice away from the gym. Lavi slid a glance to Lenalee and Allen, indicating it was time to get out of there before Kanda decided to brandish his sword upon them. They left him behind as the bell rang, indicating the start of classes. Allen paused before reaching the hall and stared at the last step in front of him, shaking his head.

"Allen?" Lenalee glanced over her shoulder and stopped halfway through a step. "What's wrong?"

"Are you two . . .?" He frowned. "I mean, are you both really okay knowing what, uh, I have on me right now?" His hand stroked the packet, making sure it was still there and out of sight. "Do you both really believe in me?"

She stared at him for a moment, then exchanged a look with Lavi. He shrugged, and she patted a hand onto Allen's shoulder. "I have no reason to suspect you of any wrongdoings," she said with a reassuring smile. "You're a great comrade, and from what I've seen, you can fight really well. And I just can't see you as anyone really harmful to me or anybody else on our side. Don't worry about it. As Lavi said, we won't mention this to anybody, so long as you don't use it." She put her forefinger up to her lips. "It will be our little secret, okay? So we all should just forget about it. But we have to get going. Class is about to start."

x~X~x

Lavi knew he said for none of them to mention it, so he tried to not think about it. The teacher spoke of some boring things he knew already, explaining the human body's major arteries and how to stop them from bleeding if inflicted upon. He tapped his fingernails onto the desk, knee twitching as he forced himself to pay attention. Allen and Lenalee looked fine to keep it a secret, sure, but he wanted to experiment, to test things out, like he always did. It was a habit of his; once he became engrossed in something, little could stop him from conducting research. However, drugs were not a toy; he couldn't ingest some and expect to get away with it without some kind of side-effect.

"We should all forget about it." Easy for her to say. Lenalee never tried to disobey the rules, to see what would happen if she questioned a social standpoint. She was a "yes-man," taking every command given to her and completing them flawlessly. He doubted if she ever wondered what would happen if she decided to become a renegade and abandon the war completely. He, on the other hand, liked pushing the boundaries, and that drug was, in fact, another boundary that the government put in place.

His twitching increased as he glanced at the clock. The class was taking too long. He wanted to get out and purge his mind of any reckless thoughts. Yes, he was a rebel in many forms, but enough to damage his whole mind's make-up?

"No," he whispered, clicking the tip of his mechanical pencil. "No, I'm not that stupid."

Doodles covered the margins of his paper, spreading out into his notes when he stopped caring about his class. His knee, in the midst of its twitching, slammed underneath the desk, making the class look at him funny when he swore quietly under his breath.

"Is something the matter, student seven-four-ninety?" The teacher peered at him over her glasses, chalk poised to scrape against the chalkboard. He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Nah, I'm good. Sorry to bother you."

When he was released from the clutches of his anatomy class, he pushed aside the door to the roof and gripped the gate surrounding the roof. He needed another experiment, and quickly. If he didn't give in to his starved ambition, then he would resort to breaking into Allen's house and rifling through the boy's belongings to find the LVE. He wanted to dissect it, to take a microscope to it, to melt it down and see what color it burned in, to swallow it down with a mug of tea and let in control him, slowly, slowly . . .

"Shit."

There was no avoiding it further. He had to ask Allen for one of the tablets later.

x~X~x

Allen wasn't an agent of the Earl. She told herself that repeatedly, as if it became her new mantra, while she read the book assigned to her in class. She turned the page. The look of fear when Kanda found the tablets told her that he was innocent, and that he had no idea how they came to him. Still, she found it hard to believe he was completely innocent. Hiding them beneath a bench was a poor choice, he must have known that. They would be discovered in a matter of minutes, and he would be exposed as a traitor.

She twisted the strands of her ponytail around her fingers, tugging at the loose ends to help her focus. Did she do the right thing? She couldn't recall doing anything against the rules, not once, but since Allen was involved, she couldn't bring herself to turn him in. Did that make her an accomplice? She yanked hard on her ponytail and shook her head. No, not an accomplice, but instead a fellow conspirator.

The words tingled through her skin, making her shudder. She glanced around, checking everyone's face, wondering if any were looking at her strangely. No one was peering at her with suspicious eyes; her fellow classmates were absorbed in their studies. Sighing, she closed her book and excused herself out of the library, making her way to the shooting range.

It was quiet; no one else was there, as expected. The various guns, pistols to rifles, hung on the racks, protected by locks. Each gun had an owner, and only that owner could unlock them. She slid her ID card through the recognition lock, and the little red light turned green, freeing her two weapons of choice. She lugged along the shotgun, her trademark, and entered one of the stalls. Putting on the stylish purple earmuffs, she loaded a round, then fired at the target.

The smell of gunpowder, the muffled bang that followed her pulling the trigger, didn't calm her nerves as she wanted them to. Her shots continued to miss and hit the wall, where they bounced off and clattered onto the floor. The target remained unscathed. She loaded another round and fired again, nipping the edge of the paper. Agitated, she put in one more round, and fired again. The bullet whizzed by the target and, like the other twenty bullets, rolled onto the floor.

She tore off the earmuffs, flabbergasted. She turned on the safety and put the shotgun aside, eyes darting from the lucky target to the collection of bullets. "What is wrong with you today?" she muttered as she exchanged the shotgun for her AK-47, the AKM version. "This isn't like you. Get your act together, Lenalee."

Even with the precision of her AKM, as the bullets hurdled at seven hundred and twelve meters per second, none of them hit her true target, the head. Her arms started to ache after twenty minutes of constant reloading and firing. She put the gun back where it rested before observing the tattered paper. It didn't match her progress at all; it looked like an amateur picked up a gun and winged it. Her ears rung, but she wasn't sure if it was from the shots fired or from her growing agitation.

"I'm not the bad guy. The Earl is. I'm not. I need to stop thinking this way. So what if I won't tell on him? It has nothing to do with the war, especially since he's not using it. But what if he does? Then what?" She gripped one of her ponytails and yanked hard as she looked to the window, seeing her reflection cast in the glass. Her expression was unfamiliar. It used to be full of confidence, ready to seize the day, but the foreign abstraction of doubt and nervousness arched her eyebrows and widened her eyes. "He'll take me down with him, won't he?"

Lavi probably wouldn't worry as much as she was, and Kanda certainly wouldn't care. She knew that she told Allen that she would forget it ever happened, though it proved harder than anticipated. It was like overlooking the Earl sitting on his shoulder, whispering temptations that the young soldier-in-training couldn't resist. Soon the temptations would travel, taking the other three down that dark road, too. She didn't want to walk hand-in-hand with the Devil, gazing at the moonlight while discussing how to obliterate the very race she belonged to.

Yet, she realized as she began walking towards the stairwell leading down to the gymnasium, she already turned a blind eye to "right" and faced "wrong" willingly. She paused, hand quivering as it grasped the stair's railing. She had to tell a general. If she didn't, she would be betraying the war's cause. She would become another Suman Dark. She turned around and hurried down the hall, her quickened footsteps the only sound resonating in the emptied corridor. The door she sought for stood ajar, a nameplate reading "Gen. Yeegar" carved in a black plate sitting in the middle of the wooden structure.

_I have to tell him._ Her fingers outstretched to push the door further open, ready to spill out the secret she swore to hide. They trembled as they brushed against the wood, nails barely scratching at it. _I have to, or else I will become a traitor. I'm sorry, Allen. I just don't want to end up like you._

"Is someone there?"

The old general's voice shocked her, making her hand jolt back to her chest. She took a step back as she heard someone, undoubtedly the general, rising from his seat. Muffled footsteps followed, approaching the door as her eyes darted from left to right.

The door opened fully, and the general peered his head out. "Hello?"

She held her breath, hiding behind a pillar holding up the ceiling of the designated locker space. His boots clicked against the floor, as if inspecting to see if someone was still around, and a sigh followed. "Kids," she heard him say, "even if they are training to be soldiers, they can't help but play a prank or two on an old man like myself."

She waited a few moments later until she heard a door shut. Her muscles relaxed, though her mind was furious. _What are you doing?_ She snuck a quick glance at the door. _You were supposed to tell him, and yet you hide like a coward? What's happened to you, Lenalee? Go up to that door and knock properly! Do you want to be exposed as someone who works with the Earl? Go, serve your race, and get rid of what could destroy everything!_

"I promised Allen I wouldn't," she whispered, startling herself. "He's a good comrade, and he's not the Earl."

_Are you insane? Listen to yourself! It's as if you already ingested some of that drug!_

"What I should be destroying," she said, "is the drug itself, not Allen."

Her mind fell silent. Nodding to herself, she made her way back towards the gym. Since the drug created the problem, it had to go, not Allen. After school, she would ask him to give them to her, and she would properly dispose of them––by shooting them beyond recognition.

x~X~x

He didn't give two shits about the bean sprout and his lackeys, or the Earl, or the drug. All he cared about was being alone and fighting. Nothing else mattered, except the necessities of eating and oxygen. So when the two other brats brought him aside at separate times of the day, which took him away from fighting and made him no longer by himself, his entire day became a trash heap with rotten corpses hiding underneath.

First, the idiot-rabbit appeared during his lunch break. He snapped a pair of glued-together chopsticks and started eating his noodles when the blinding mop of red hair caught his attention, along with the stupid grin he wanted to smash into a million pieces. He pretended he never saw him, but it didn't work; the idiot plopped himself on the other side of the table, eyes filled with mischievous intent. "I found you, Yuu-chan!"

The corner of Kanda's upper lip twitched, exposing his teeth, which gritted together. "Call me that again, and I'll have the custodians complain about cleaning up your guts, _Baka Usagi._"

"Aw, you don't have to be so mean," he replied with a pout. "I just wanted to talk, that's all."

"You lost me at 'talk,'" Kanda muttered, but the idiot-rabbit continued spewing his nonsense as if he didn't hear his words.

"Remember this morning? With the drugs and all that?" Kanda grunted as he ate another bite of his lunch, prompting the idiot further. "I was thinking about it earlier, and I really, _really_ wanna see what it's like to have some, if you know what I mean. The thing is, I doubt little Allen will be willing to give them to me, even if I asked nicely. So I was wondering if you'd help me get them from him."

He took another bite of his noodles, then put his chopsticks down, sighing. "No."

"Oh, don't be that way! You're curious too, aren't you?"

"I don't have time dealing with idiots like yourself," he spat, dumping the remaining contents of his meal into the trash. The moron followed him as he exited the dining hall, mood worsening with every step. "Why don't you bother that girl, Rinari or whatever, to help you?"

"Lenalee. And she'd freak out in a millisecond by a proposal like that. The only option I have is you, Yuu! You've gotta help me!"

"As I said before, _Baka Usagi,_" he said through clenched teeth, "_no._ If you don't want to find my blade through your stomach, I suggest you leave me alone. _Now_."

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal." Did he not just hear him? Kanda gripped the handle of his sword, ready to brandish it and hack the idiot to pieces. "If you help me out, I'll stop harassing you for a _month_. Hell, I'll even call you 'Kanda,' too, as an added bonus. 'Yuu-chan' will never be uttered from my lips again, I promise. But only if you help me get the LVE from Allen."

"If I say yes, will you go away?"

"Yup!" The redhead grinned. "Faster than you can say 'seppaku.' Just help me stop Allen and get the drugs from him once school gets out, okay? And don't tell anyone else."

"Then yes. I'll help you. Now, _go away._"

He turned as he said the words, and, much to his surprise, the idiot disappeared. His brow furrowed, confused for a moment, then shrugged. It didn't matter how he left; he could finally enjoy his solitude again.

The last class of the day approached, though he skipped it as he usually did. No matter how many times he ignored his studies, he always got passing grades, as if the teachers knew something that he didn't. He didn't care, but it did pique his interest a little. Instead of class, he secluded himself in the gym, where he meditated. A sharp mind meant greater reflexes while in battle, ensuring a higher chance of victory.

That's when his second obnoxious guest interrupted his daily routine. He heard her before she opened the doors, and he almost managed to get to his feet to hide somewhere, but he forgot how fast the girl was. She spotted him and ran after him, grasping the collar of his shirt. "Kanda!" she said, sounding relieved. "Thank goodness I found you! I have a favor to ask."

He didn't believe in gender inequality, and he could punch a girl if he wanted, but the way she looked at him, with pleading eyes and clingy fingers, he gave up fleeing. Disgruntled, he sat back down on his tatami mat, twitching. "Fine. What the hell do you want from me?"

Her lips turned upward into a smile. "I knew I could count on you! I was thinking about earlier, when you discovered the micro-weapon of the Earl's, and what to do about it. Since I promised Allen earlier not to turn him in, I can't do that, so that brings up the question: how do we get rid of the problem?"

"Are you suggesting we eat it, then?"

"What?" Her eyes widened as she shook her head furiously. "No, goodness, no! I would _never_ suggest that we do something like that!" She sat down next to him on the tatami mat and stared at something, maybe the various cracks on the beams overhead. The girl was always calm, and was a great change from the idiot-rabbit, always being loud. "Rather, I figured out a way to destroy the drug permanently. The problem is, I don't know if my shotgun shells will be enough to dismember those pills. So what I want from you is to help me ask them from Allen and take them into the shooting range, where my shotgun and your blade will take the pills apart." She turned her head towards him, smiling. "Will you help me?"

He frowned. They, idiot-rabbit and the girl, wanted the drug for two different reasons, and they both wanted his help? It started to get ridiculous, how everyone was being secretive with him. His frown deepened, then scowled. "Are you shitting me?" he muttered, too low for her to hear. "I don't have time for either one of you. Fine!" He glared at her. "_Che_. I'll help you. I don't care anymore. We'll stop him after school and ask for the stupid thing, okay? Then you have to leave me alone, _forever_, afterward. No coming down here before, during, or after school. Got it?"

"Got it," she said with another nod. "I'll pretend I don't know who you are, too, if that's what you want. I just can't turn a blind eye for years knowing he has them. Thank you, Kanda."

She rose from the mat, and disappeared behind the doors. He growled, no longer able to clear his mind, and unsheathed his sword, Mugen, for practice. It was just a dumb drug. Why did they have to make such a big deal out of it? The cowardly bean sprout couldn't do anything against the law, so the girl had nothing to worry about. And the idiot-rabbit . . . was an idiot. Curiosity killed the contrived bunnies, especially when they bopped field mice on the head under the gaze of the old wise owl. Why did he have the misfortune to find those stupid pillsfirst?

Grimacing, he sliced one of the training dummies. Oh, he'd help them, all right, but they were going to do it his way. And if that meant having to go to the bean sprout's house, so be it, but he was sick of the game of "hide-and-seek" already.

And it hadn't even really started yet.

x~X~x

The last bell rang. Allen exited the school, breathing for the first time since that morning's incident. He thought, during his classes, one of them would tell on him to one of the generals, and they would take him away. It didn't happen, and he was happy to see the sunshine ducking behind one of the school's turrets again. Fellow students left the school, discussing what they had learned in class, alongside a variety of other topics. He didn't want to see his two acquaintances, so he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed down the sidewalk.

"Hey, _Moyashi!_"

He froze at the nickname his arch-nemesis labeled him. He breathed in sharply, trying to compose himself, then turned around to face what he wanted to avoid all day: a confrontation. The man, Kanda, stepped towards him, glare darker than normal. On his left was Lenalee, and on his right was Lavi, both of which looked confused by his actions. He stood in front of Allen, looking down on him, before saying, almost seeming reluctantly, through gritted teeth:

"We need to talk."

x~X~x

**I want to thank those who have reviewed thus far. It truly means a lot to me. With your support, and with my girlfriend's support, I think this is the one multi-chaptered story I can finish. If you feel so inclined, please do leave a review. They are much appreciated. If not, thank you for reading, anyhow. It is to be hoped that I will see you in chapter three. {Nobody Odd}**


	3. Way Down, Hadestown

**Another chapter. It nearly killed me to write it; I had three different versions, all with three different expositions, and I chose this one. Thanks to all your support! Please, do enjoy. (To "Jade"––consider this the two-year anniversary present. You cleaned me out of money for buying you clothes last week . . .)**

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man isn't mine. Nor is "Hadestown," the inspiration for the titles.**

Three: Way Down, Hadestown

Upon arriving his home, he glanced over his shoulder to his three guests. The tension built up a silence, suffocating any attempts for conversation. Kanda, through gritted teeth, demanded that the three of them meet up at Allen's place. He never had guests before; visitations amongst other soldiers were frowned on, because it was an indicator of possible anarchy, and any who betrayed the war's cause were cast into the government's hands. While walking, each guest kept a distance of at least two hundred feet until they reached the outskirts of town, where few people mingled outdoors. Then they gathered in smaller distance, though the silence remained.

The keys jangled in his quivering hands, feeling their stares fixed on him. The door opened slowly, and he realized that his house was a disaster-zone. The last time he cleaned anything––he couldn't remember, but it was a while: trash bags, filled to the brim with remains of food, lined up near the back door; old newspapers covered the table with coffee stains on them; the rug looked as if it had never been vacuumed since he first started to live there; the kitchen was cluttered with stacked, unwashed dishes. He closed the door to a crack and looked back at his guests. "Do we have to discuss this _here?_"

With Kanda's impatient glare, he allowed them in.

As they settled around the kitchen table, he tried his best to clean up, though the results didn't look any different. He filled the tea kettle with water while moving the used dishes out of the way, letting the clamor together in the sink, overflowing with glass. He glanced over his shoulder as he prepared three mugs. Kanda's arms folded over his chest, glaring out the window. Lenalee twirled one of her ponytails, looking between him and Lavi. The redhead, as if bored, fiddled with one of his earrings. He poured the water in each of the mugs.

"I hope green tea is all right," he said, placing them before each acquaintance. "I have not had the time to obtain more, so I apologize for any inconvenience this may bring to you all. Next time, I will try harder."

"Green tea's fine," Lenalee reassured. He didn't feel assured.

Timcanpy, his golden retriever attack dog assigned to him, came over to the table as Allen sat down. His dog wagged his tail before resting his head on Allen's shoe, oblivious to the nervous ticks and the uncomfortable, yet still dragging out, silence. Lenalee sipped at her green tea, eyebrows furrowed. Lavi stared at his drink, forefinger tapping against the wood. Kanda huffed, as if suddenly annoyed, then snapped his head in Allen's direction, who jumped. "You," he said, hand outstretched, "give me the stupid packet."

"Wh-what? Oh!" He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the LVE, handing it to Kanda. The man stared at it, upper lip twitching, then slammed it in the middle of the table. Everyone jumped that time.

"_Che_." He opened the packet and placed one pill in front of each guest. "Look at these stupid things, would you? See how damn small they are? You're letting something like this pick at your curiosity––" he looked to Lavi, who cringed, "––and your paranoia––" he looked to Lenalee, who cast her stare to the suddenly interesting floor, "––and your _stupidity_––" he looked to Allen, who wanted to make a retort, "––and it's smaller than a damn _pebble_. Are you all idiots? You call yourself soldiers? This is _nothing_ compared to the demons out on the battlefield. This could ruin your mind at its worst, but those things, the Earl's true creations, can destroy you entirely, then make you into one of their own. Get your damn acts together."

"Jeez, Yuu," Lavi laughed sheepishly, "you sure know how to make us feel bad, huh?"

He frowned. "That's not my intent, but you should. Worrying about a creation of the Earl means he's winning. It's emotional warfare. It affects your ability to fight, your ability to think clearly. I think that was his intent from the start, and you're all falling for it."

"Ugh." Allen rose from his seat, clutching his head. "If you excuse me for a moment."

He left the kitchen, entering his bedroom. Timcanpy followed him, plopping himself onto the mattress and started dozing off. Kanda made him feel like a fool, for once, despite him hating the man. Kanda was right; he was letting something like that get to him, and it was throwing everything off track. He pulled two pills to relieve his forming headache out of their bottle and began returning to the kitchen.

". . . then we should destroy it," he heard Lenalee say. "We can't let it torment us further."

"And how do you suggest that?" Lavi replied. "Shooting it? You know these tablets can only be destroyed by ingesting them, right? The old man and I, the day before the presentation, tried everything––setting it on fire, stabbing it, shooting, putting it in water, melting it, _everything_––and nothing worked. It's like the only thing that _can_ destroy them is a property only found in human beings. And there's no way in hell we can discard them in this city, now that everyone is looking for them. Our fingerprints are all over them! We'd be caught within an hour."

"Are you saying to eat them?" She sounded afraid. Allen hesitated to return to the kitchen.

"Do you see any other option? I mean, yeah, I'm curious as hell to see what they do, and what happens to someone who swallows them down, but this is the only known way to destroy them."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"If you don't believe me, go right ahead. Shoot it."

A moment later, a gunshot went off. Startled, Allen stepped back, ears ringing loudly, pills falling out of his hand. He quickly recovered them and hurried into the kitchen, where Lenalee's gun smoldered. The table had a newfound hole in it, burn marks still hissing. She bent down and picked up a red tablet. It looked a little burned, but other than that, it remained completely intact.

"Holy _shit!_" Lavi was several feet away from the table, chair toppled over from his surprise. "I didn't mean in here! Do you have any idea how much hearing damage you can cause by shooting a gun indoors? Damn, my ears are still ringing! You're dangerous with that thing! How did you get permission to take that off school grounds, anyway?"

"What?" She asked loudly, putting the pill back on the table. "It was a fluke. Let me shoot it again."

"Ah, please do not!" Allen grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. "I do not want another hole in my table, thank you! If you are going to shoot it, shoot it outside, please!"

"Are you all done squabbling?" Kanda moved his hands away from his ears with an irritated sigh, picking up his own pill. "A gunshot that close of range should've obliterated it beyond recognition. There's no need to waste another bullet. What _baka usagi_ said is true, so stand your gun down, Lenalee."

"What?" She turned to Kanda. "Did you say something?"

He sighed. "I said, _put your stupid gun down!_"

"Oh!" She placed her gun back in its holster. "I know I hit it. Nothing can survive a pointblank shot like that. So I guess you're right, Lavi. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"It's fine." He cautiously brought his chair back to the table, eying her gun wearily. "So, we can't destroy them. The only way to is by ingesting them. But there's no way anyone can ingest more than one pill at once, because it really will mess with your mind. Which means, if we really want it gone today, we all have to take one, though I doubt Lenalee would do that, and Kanda would be caught dead displaying the side-effects. Being clingy and whatnot? Not his style. And I doubt you would want any, either, Allen. And I'm not really sure how I feel anymore."

Allen returned to his seat, blowing on his still-hot tea. "I do not know. Having it in my possession is bad enough, but willingly taking some? It is like I want to be subjected to experimentation." He picked up his two headache pills off the table and popped each one in separately, swallowing them down with his tea. "I do not want to do that, so is there any other sugges . . .?"

He blinked when he realized his guests were staring at him. Lenalee had her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide. Lavi had his hand outstretched, as if ready to warn him, with his jaw agape. Kanda had a raised eyebrow, arms still folded across his chest, though the slight narrowing of his eyes told Allen something was wrong. "What?" he asked, looking at them. "What is the matter? Is something on my face?" No one answered. "I am really worried now, what is it?"

"Uh," Lavi started, biting his lower lip, "Allen?"

He was looking at the table space in front of Allen. He followed Lavi's stare, noticing a headache pill still sitting there. He tilted his head, confused, and picked it up. He knew he swallowed down two pills to kill his headache. Did he pick up a third? No, that was impossible, he only took two out of the bottle. So what did he swallow? He glanced at the three guests again, searching for answers, then back to the unused pill, ready to relieve headaches of all intensity. He only had the one bottle of medicine like that, and the only other drug in the house, right now, was the . . .

LVE.

"No," he said, face paling, "no, I did not just . . . tell me I did not just . . . oh, goodness, no, I did not just take . . . did I . . ." He slowly looked back to Lavi, who now stared at his mug. Lenalee began biting her forefinger, eyes stretched as wide as they could go. Kanda, with a sigh, shook his head. "No, no, _no!_ No, Lavi, how do I get it out of me? Stop being silent and tell me already! I have to get it out of me before it starts affecting me and––!"

"It already has."

He blinked. " . . . What?"

Lavi shook his head. "The old guy told me, once it gets past your lips, and once you swallow it down, the drug takes less than thirty-five seconds to enter your bloodstream, making it one of the most-effective drugs out there. In a minute or so, it pumps into your heart, then your brain. In three minutes, it rearranges your chemical make-up, releasing more endorphins and things that feel good, but, as the old man said, really isn't good. The side-effects start showing up around then, and you become clingy, get an elevated heart rate . . . it varies from person to person, but the overall idea remains the same. You view people more than acquaintances and comrades. You view them as _friends_," the foreign word, one that got Lavi in trouble last time, rolled easily off his tongue, "and, perhaps, as _lovers_. I say you have a minute and a half left before the real insanity kicks in."

"_Lovers?_" Lenalee repeated. "Wait, that sounds like that word from the other day. Is that another word the Millennium Earl created? Why are you saying it? Don't ever say it again, Lavi! You never know who might be listening!"

"Does it really matter right now?" Lavi jabbed a finger towards Allen. "He's about to go all _lovey-dovey_ on us and all you can think about is that I said _friends_ and _lovers?_"

"Stop it, stop it!"

"Shut up and listen to me!" He grabbed her by the shoulders, making her look at him. "I don't care if they are words that belong to the Earl! I'm just trying to accurately describe what's going to happen to Allen now! Are you really so conceited to ignore the needs of a fellow comrade? Are you really going to close your eyes when he needs us? What does rule number six say of the soldier's code? I know you know it by heart, damn it, and I know you can't ignore that!"

She gritted her teeth. "Rule number six," she murmured, "is 'do not let a fellow comrade go into battle alone.' But this isn't a battle, Lavi, this is––" she stopped when Allen saw Lavi's nails dig harder in her shoulders. "Is it a battle? Kanda?" Desperate, she cast a glance over him. "Kanda, what do you think?"

He snorted, frown deepening. "Rule number six isn't just applied for battles. You don't let a comrade suffer alone, you don't let a comrade fail alone. What _baka usagi_ means is, you don't abandon a comrade, no matter the situation. If we let him be the only one who takes the drug," he plucked the drug up off the table, "then we fail the soldier's code, and lose honor as a soldier. And he's right. _Moyashi_ didn't want this to happen, and accidentally picked up the wrong stupid pill. He fell for an enemy's trap. So," he pushed the pill into his mouth with a disgusted grimace, "we have to back him up."

"Kanda!" She gasped when he swallowed the drug down with his tea.

"It's not like I want to go down with the damned bean sprout, Lenalee." He glared at Allen. "Anything but that. But this is war. You can't pick your battles. You can't abandon the code."

Lavi released her from his grip and sat back down. Wordlessly, he picked up his own pill and swallowed, eyes fixed on her. She shook her head, looking away, but she ended up staring at her own pill. The burn marks from when she shot it still remained, but it wasn't damaged. She looked to Allen, who's eyes squeezed shut while a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. He heard a small groan of refusal, followed by a slamming of a mug. "I hate you," she muttered, probably directed at Lavi. "I hate you almost as much as the Earl right now."

His head throbbed worse than before. He clenched his forehead with his deformed hand, feeling the air almost come too short for his liking. It was like he ran around the school track for two hours nonstop, and he just took a break for water. His ribs felt like they were starting to poke out of his chest, lungs desperately trying to make up for the sudden shortfall of breath. Sweat dripped from his brow, pattering onto his pants. Someone was saying something, but the voice sounded washed out, like he was wearing Lenalee's shooting earmuffs. He gripped the fabric of his pants as he tried to remain in control of his actions. His ears started ringing, even worse than when Lenalee fired a round off in his house. Everything throbbed in pain; his fingers ached from clenching his legs too hard, his shoulders felt as if something heavy was resting on them, and his chest continued to have his ribs threaten to poke through.

Words.

He heard words. Faint words, words he had to strain to catch. They dripped into a deep well in his head, echoing softly. He didn't understand the language, but he knew the words. He knew what it was saying, almost like he wrote them down himself. The voice whispered, _hummed_, into the well, letting the letters cascade in rainfall. He began to hum alongside it, but when he opened his eyes, the words vanished, and he couldn't recall them. The well in his mind vanished into darkness as he blinked, trying to remember where he was.

Timcanpy barked. Ah, he realized, he was home. Something was wrong, though, as he tried to move to see what Timcanpy wanted. Everything felt heavy. His body wanted to stay where it was, in the warmth of his bed, underneath the covers. Moonlight peered from behind the clouds, light pouring through the window. He didn't remember moving the curtains aside. His mind felt murky, unable to register what the moved curtains meant. He couldn't remember much of anything, except his name, his dog, his home.

Something moved. Beside him, something moved slightly, trying to get more comfortable. He froze, mind suddenly too aware of everything. When did it become night? Wasn't the sun up just a few moments ago? He tried moving his arm, but it was pinned, snugged warmly underneath something. Even with the moonlight's help, he couldn't see anything. What happened? Where were the others? His body itched to be touched, yearned to be touched, but he suppressed the urge as best as he could. They took the drug, that much he recalled, and . . . and then what?

Timcanpy barked again, but gave up trying to hop onto the bed. He heard the dog leave the room, taking position to guard the house. He wished Timcanpy would come back so that he could make sense of his situation. He wished he could move, but his body, it felt so heavy, too heavy for the word "heavy" to cover. He wished he could remember what happened.

Something moved behind him, dragging what felt like an arm across his chest. Breath tickled his neck, sending a shiver down his back. Not something, but someone. Someone was touching him, holding him. It was so warm, so relaxing, that he wanted to melt back into the person behind him, but he wanted his mind focused. He needed to remember what happened. Someone in front of him (he was surrounded?) sighed, then rested a head––or a hand, he couldn't tell––against his chest. It took him a moment or two, as he wiggled a little to see how ensnared he was, that people were touching him.

"What?" he whispered, eyes starting to adjust to the dark, seeing outlines of a person, maybe two, in front of him. Touching, for the most part, was fine, but from his anatomy class, he learned such touching ("snuggling," is that was his teacher called it?) should only occur if you were selected to procreate with another soldier. If you willingly chose to do such an act with another person, you were committing treason. He swallowed hard, thought preoccupying his mind. _Treason_. He shuddered.

"Hmm?" a voice said lazily, coming from behind him. The person yawned. "What's the matter, Allen? You cold?"

Lavi. Lavi was holding him. He squeaked in response, shocked that his guests were still in his home, more shocked at what they were doing, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. The redhead pulled him closer, wrapping a leg around one of Allen's. It felt good, which terrified him. "You know," he murmured into Allen's ear, "the word 'friend,' it means 'a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.' And 'lover' means 'a person having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone, often outside marriage.' I barely know the words in those definitions, but what makes me more curious is what this––" he squeezed him "––falls under. 'Friend' or 'lover.'"

"Ah, Lavi," he felt blood creep up into his cheeks, though he didn't know why, "you really should not say such things. Why are you holding me? Do you even realize what you are doing right now?"

"Yeah," he replied, nestling his head on Allen's shoulder. "It's treason, all right, big time, 'specially since we ate the LVE. I know all this, but I can't seem to bring myself to care. It feels too good to care about the law, or the war. I just want to stay like this forever, with all you guys, you, Lenalee, Yuu . . ." He sighed, moving his head and burying it in Allen's hair. "You should get some sleep. It's almost midnight."

"How can you sleep, knowing all of that?" he asked, but Lavi didn't reply. He was already sleeping, face buried in his hair.

x~X~x

He didn't remember sleeping. The warmth succumbed him into it, perhaps, but he awoke to soft murmurs. Lenalee lay in front of him, her arms wrapped around his, though she was looking at Kanda, who lay behind her. He was chuckling. _Kanda_ was _chuckling_. Something was very wrong with that, even if it did sound like an army of undead creatures cackling while slaughtering small children and feasting upon their corpses. Lenalee tittered, one of her hands leaving Allen to touch Kanda's face. He said something, and she smiled. He forced his eyelids to open more widely so he could see better.

"Oh," she blinked and smiled at him, "good morning, Allen."

Lenalee was smiling? Surely she had to know she did something illegal. She didn't like doing anything illegal, anything that would cause them to lose the war. LVE was the Earl's weapon, after all, and she wanted nothing to do with it, right? Then why was she smiling? And why was she letting Kanda touch her like that? "Good morning," he replied, leaving the many questions unanswered. She nodded, poking Kanda.

"_Che_. You don't expect me to say 'good morning' to him, right?" Kanda's upper lip twitched. At least _something_ was as it should be. She nodded again, prompting him. His face turned to disgust, though it looked less intense than normal. "Fine. _Good morning_. That's all I'm going to do, no more." He turned his head away, repulsed by his own actions. Allen felt his heart constrict, threatening to bring him to cardiac arrest.

"That did not just happen," he said, not hiding his terrified expression. "Kanda did _not_ just say that to me. Lenalee, tell me this is a dream. Everything is so _wrong_ right now."

"Wrong?" She tilted her head. "How so?"

He lurched from his bed, backpedaling towards the bedroom door. Lavi remained unfazed, though Lenalee stared at him with a confused look. "What is going on?" he demanded, hand reaching for the doorknob. "You have to remember that you took the LVE, and it is messing with your head! Snap out of it already, okay? I am this close to losing my mind right now. Kanda is chuckling? You do not find your own actions appalling? What we did, it was _illegal!_ And now you are just okay with that?"

She gripped one of her ponytails and shook her head. "Allen," she said, voice low, "I remember everything. I remember taking the drug, and I know how illegal it is. Part of me, the part that's a soldier, is screaming inside me, telling me to report to the authorities. But now there's another part of me." She moved closer to Lavi, who kept snoozing. "Now, I . . . I don't know what to do, because I know the drug's infiltrating my head. I betrayed myself to ensure you didn't go alone, Allen. You have to understand I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

He saw her eyes shimmering, as if they were submerged in water. Some of the water escaped, leaking out of the tear duct and down the side of her cheek. "I betrayed the war's cause for you, you know," she whispered, rubbing a hand at her eyes, "all for you. At first it was for the code, but sitting here now, I want to help you. Illegal or not, I want to. What a fool I am. Such a fool. I wish I never met you, Allen, but now, I can't ever have you, or Kanda or Lavi, leave me. And the worst part is, I can't tell if that's the drug or _me_ talking."

"Lenalee . . ."

"It's fine," she said, taking out her hair ties, "I'm fine. I made a choice. I didn't have to take the drug with you three, but I did. And now I'm here. There's no going back to fix it, and there's no time to regret anything." She pushed the covers aside, shaking Lavi. "Wake up. We have to get ready for school, and if all four of us show up late, they'll be suspicious."

"Nn . . . five more minutes," he replied, rolling over. She swatted the back of his head, and he sat up with a jolt. "Ow! What was that for? Huh?" He looked between her, Kanda, and Allen, eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, _right_. We took the LVE, didn't we? Uh, Allen, why're you all the way over there?" He opened his arms with a grin. "C'mere, lemme wish you a good morning."

"No thanks," Allen replied, taking out his school clothes from his closet and resisting the urge to accept Lavi's offer. "Unlike you, I do not think I am still affected by the drug. In fact, I cannot remember anything that transpired after taking it. I do not think I _want_ to remember. I am sure it will come back to me later. But, until then, I have to get to school."

"Wait, you don't remember?" Lavi frowned and his arms dropped. "But I remember everything, like it just happened a few seconds ago." Lenalee nodded in agreement, and Kanda snorted, indicating he remembered everything, too.

"It is not important right now," he said, forcing his feet to move away from them, not towards them. "Could you three please leave my house? I do not want to get in trouble, or, at least, more trouble than I already am in." He closed the closet door and turned towards them. "This is never happening again, ever. I do not want to see another LVE tablet, and I never want to see you three in my house again. I am going to take a shower, and when I come out, you three better not be here."

He left them, shocked by his own words, and went into the shower room. He peeled off the clothes, still sticking to his skin from sweat, and stared at himself in the mirror. The deformed arm, if it had a face, would be laughing at him. _"It's me you don't want them to see, isn't it?"_ It said, making him grimace. _"You know as well as I do, because I _am_ you, that the drug is still in your system. It doesn't fade overnight, and yet you told them to leave, despite how badly you wanted to accept that redheaded boy's offer to 'wish you a good morning.' Pathetic."_

"Shut up," he said, stripping off the last remains of his clothes. "Shut up, it is best that this happens now. I cannot remember anything. All I know is that I want to touch them, and that is a bad thing for the war's cause."

"_The war's cause?"_ the arm sneered. _"You actually care about that? Bullshit. Are you so afraid of being rejected because of me that you keep deluding yourself with lies? Once they leave, they'll never come back, you know. And then,"_ it cackled, _"you'll be all alone with _me._ How wonderful that would be, hmm?"_

Allen shook his head, then looked back to his arm. The veins bulged, and it looked more ugly and warped than normal. The blackened nails gripped the edge of the sink, shaking with how much pressure was applied to grasping it. "Shut up," he said again, then tried to leave, but the arm continued to hold onto the sink. "What do you want from me?" He yanked at it, but the arm remained still.

"_I'm the reason you won't fight in the war. I'm the reason you're gonna be a science tech, and you keep hiding it from your fellow comrades. I'm the reason you'll never defeat the Earl, ever, not in this lifetime. When little Lenalee is blown to smithereens by the enemy, you'll be meticulously absorbed in creating a new weapon for the next soldier to use. When that redhead gives up in the middle of battle, no longer wanting to fight, you'll be busy taking commands from a guy with glasses, unable to rally him. And,"_ the cross embedded on the hand almost formed a grin, _"when Kanda, the guy you detest, becomes a war hero, all you'll be recognized for is being useless and a freak. Oh, Allen, what do I want from you, you ask? I want you to be as miserable as me. But you already are. You just keep denying it. After all, now you're all alone."_

"Stop talking," he said with a glare. The arm laughed.

"_Make me."_

He grasped the handle of the knife he left behind in the bathroom once before, pressing the blade against the shoulder joint. The fingers quavered, making the blade slip from its target and clatter into the sink. He stared at the knife, watching the sink drip water onto the blade, then pushed himself away from the mirror. He gripped his forehead, teeth chattering and body quaking. He heard the front door open and close, regret setting in as he forced himself into the shower.

It was for the better. They would no longer get in trouble because of the LVE, since there was no more, and the side-effects would vanish eventually. A year from then, and they will all be disgusted with themselves. He stood still beneath the scolding water, unable to turn the dial to make it colder. A year from then, it wouldn't matter. They would all forget the feeling, and everything would return to normal. He slumped against the shower's wall.

For the better, he told himself, the better.

The arm cackled.

x~X~x

**Hm. I keep getting this feeling that this chapter could've been better. Hn. Anyhow, thank you to those for their continued support! If you feel inclined, please, leave a review, but if not, that's fine, too. I hope to see you in chapter four! {Nobody Odd}**


	4. Songbird Intro

**Look up there! It's a chapter! With plot! Not to say the other chapters lacked a plot, I am simply stating that within this chapter important character development occurs––ah, you are capable of reading it. Please, do enjoy, and thanks to those who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: Mine not is Man-Gray D.**

Four: Songbird (Intro)

LVE.

Three letters caused so much trouble in her life, and she couldn't talk to anyone about it, except Lavi and Kanda. At first, she believed Allen would be there, too, but his sudden outburst startled them, and they decided to leave him be. She didn't see him arrive at school, and she wondered if he made it on time. Worrying wasn't foreign to her, but worrying about people, about comrades, troubled her. Typically, the war preoccupied her mind, making all other thoughts obsolete, but now, as she sat as her desk jotting down notes, she was wondering about Lavi. He mentioned something in the lobby when he arrived to school that in a week he would be deployed as a soldier on the front lines. He said something about that before, but then he said it was around his birthday, which was in August.

It was June.

Talented soldiers, one with a quick mind and a great battle skill, often got culled out of school and placed in the battlefield. Most often, those soldiers became generals, and the generals became revered figures to younger soldiers. However, she couldn't see Lavi, of all soldiers, becoming a general. He lacked a certain drive, though she didn't know what.

"Class dismissed. You now have a twenty-minute recess."

Before taking the LVE, she was excited for him, even proud for her comrade, for being placed in the war early. She wanted to follow in his footsteps and enter the war early as well, leading fellow comrades to fight against the Earl. She gathered her books and placed them in her bag before leaving the anatomy classroom. After taking it, though, she wasn't so sure. Lavi, for being so carefree, looked afraid. If it were Kanda, there would be nothing to fret over because he would slaughter hordes of demons without blinking. Lavi, on the other hand . . . She bit her lower lip. Worrying about people was strange, and it didn't feel good.

She caught up with two other comrades, one named Miranda and the other named Anita. Typically, there was a fourth, but, as Anita said, she was in the midst of preparing for her next class. She sat down while chewing on an energy bar, listening to the other two girls chatter.

"I-I don't know," Miranda said, biting into her sandwich. "This whole d-drug thing is terrifying, especially since t-there's probably h-hundreds of users. I h-hope they catch them all s-soon, so I won't h-have to be on g-guard all the t-time."

"They will," Anita reassured. "The government already dispatched crews of people to investigate any leads they get. Then we can get back to the war. I can't wait to have my daily norm back in place, because it's throwing me off. I still have a pile of homework and training I need to catch up on."

Lenalee slowed her chewing. "Hey," she said, "have you two ever wondered, just, hypothetically, wondered what it would be like if there never was a war?" The two looked at her, and she waved her hands frantically. "I mean, if the Earl was defeated and we could live however we want, not having to fight in battles you don't want to. What if there was no two-hundred year war? What if there was no war at all?"

Miranda's eyes widened, possibly out of fright. "L-Lenalee, are you feeling o-okay? If there was no w-war, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. T-Talking like that can get you labeled as a r-renegade, or, w-worse, a . . . an a-agent of the Earl!"

"She's right," Anita said. "Thinking like that damages the war's cause. We don't exist for possibilities, we exist for the now, and now there is a war. You should get your act together, Lenalee, before your radical thinking hurts fellow soldiers. You exist for this battle, and for nothing else. You mustn't forget that." She turned to Miranda. "Which reminds me, did you hear about the new weapon being dispersed? It's the newest model of a rocket launcher that a group of tech supports created. Apparently, it can do rapid-fire without causing a serious kickback."

"R-Really? I think I-I wouldn't be able to make such a th-thing."

"It's a shame," Anita shook her head, "such talent gone to waste because of impairments. I wouldn't want to be one of those tech supports, ever. Imagine, _never_ fighting? How could you live with yourself knowing all you're good for is creating new weapons you'll never use?"

The two laughed before discussing different topics. Lenalee crinkled up her energy bar's wrapper before rising from the table. They didn't look up as she left, engrossed in their own conversation. Her stomach lurched as she thought about their words. An agent of the Earl? Her? The drug was messing with her head more than she thought. She reflected at her own question for a moment, wondering what she would do with no war.

"I would," she started, then left the sentence hanging. She didn't have any ideas of other lifestyles. As far as her world was concerned, the only two things you became was a soldier or a tech, and after that, a teacher, if you weren't killed. What did people do before the war, when there was no Earl to fight? Did they relax? Did they read for fun? Did they attend school? She wanted to know, but anything in the B.E. era, Before Earl, had restrictions in obtaining documents. If there was no war, would Lavi be happier? He wouldn't have to fight. Kanda would pitch a fit in his own way, but he would probably get involved in different fights.

She wandered down the hall, heading towards her geology class. Now that she really thought about it, in her history classes, all they covered was from the start of the war to the recent years of the war. Everything she learned was about fighting, and nothing else.

_"Imagine,"_ Anita's voice echoed, _"never fighting? How could you live with yourself knowing all you're good for is creating new weapons you'll never use?"_

"Imagine," Lenalee murmured, "always fighting. How can you live with yourself knowing all you're good for is cannon fodder for the Millennium Earl?" Something wet formed around her eyes, threatening to overflow. "I want to fight, don't I? Or is that because it's been beaten into ever since I was born? I don't know. I don't know anymore. Why am I thinking like this? Why did it suddenly become so complicated? It was so much easier before, not questioning things. I want to go back," she said as she ducked into the girl's bathroom. No one else was in there, so she stood in front of the mirror, looking at the dark eyes becoming watery. "I want to go back to before! I don't want to think like this anymore!"

Her body wracked, little droplets dripping into the sink. She knew it was wishful thinking; there was no way to go back in time and reverse her actions, and she doubted the tech supports created a tonic to erase memories. She shook her head. "I said I didn't regret anything, but that's a lie, isn't it? The soldier part of me is trying to come back. What do I do?" She looked into the mirror again, eyes searching for answers. "What do I do now?"

_What do I want to know?_

She wiped the tears away with her sleeve and left the bathroom. Regardless of what she felt, she still needed to attend class. Purposely setting out to skip it, like Lavi did once, ended with a suspension, if not an expulsion. She rounded the corner, boots stepping onto something wet. She looked to her feet, seeing a red pool lapping against her soles. Her eyes slowly widened as she followed the trail from the floor to the splatters on the wall, then to the guts spewed across the floor. She stepped back, dropping her bag.

"Ah," she barely managed as she took another step back, "ah, _aaah, aaaaaaaah!"_

x~X~x

He heard her first. Lenalee. The teachers didn't care if he skipped class, so long as he was practicing, but he forgot to bring his sword, Mugen, along. It was coincidence that he had to get to his locker, where he tucked away his treasure. He pulled it out when someone screeched bloody murder, not far from where he stood. The sheathe fell from his hands as he ran silently towards the source of the sound. Up the stairs, down the corridor, and he slid to a stop when he saw Lenalee taking steps back. Her bag was abandoned, books spilling out onto the floor. Her eyes slid in his direction, face pale. Her hand shook as she pointed past his line of vision, so he assumed it was around the corner. When he approached, he saw the blood, then the mess of the victim himself.

The large intestines wrapped itself around the victim's arms, while the small intestines bound his feet. He could see his empty chest cavity, where the heart should have been. The many broken ribs stuck out through his chest, piking through a variety of body parts: eyes, ears, sawed-off feet, gallbladder, and other unrecognizable parts dripping body fluid onto the floor. Beside the head was a mushed brain, the white, scattered bits looking like cauliflower dipped in red dye. All the fingers were severed from his hands and pushed into the victim's mouth. The white hair and beard, what was left of them, told him it was none other than the general, Kevin Yeegar.

"Holy sweet shitting _Christ."_

"I-I didn't do it," she sputtered, taking another step back. "I was in the bathroom, and I didn't even hear anything. No cries for help, nothing. When I turned around the corner, he was . . ." She looked away from the body, hand clasped over her mouth. "I-I'm gonna be sick."

She ran off back towards the bathroom. Kanda gritted his teeth, hearing people, probably teachers, run up the stairs in his direction. A demon couldn't have done it; they fired bullets, which turned their victims into dust. This looked like it was done by another human being, one who had far too much free time on their hands. He glanced at the sawed legs, recognizing the cutting pattern. The son of a bitch used a knife, or some form of blade, and was a professional, too. He spotted then something sticking out of the general's pocket. Making sure the teachers weren't close yet, he carefully pulled a piece of paper out of the pocket, glancing over the contents. Specks of blood covered the sheet, telling him it didn't belong to the general, but instead the murderer.

He heard the teachers coming. He looked at the note, looked at the body, then stuffed the note into his own pocket. He didn't have time to put it back where it belonged. Lenalee came out of the bathroom shortly thereafter, looking away from the body and stood close to Kanda when the teachers finally arrived.

x~X~x

Lenalee was late to geology class, and when she arrived, she looked like a mess; her face was pale, her eyes looked hollowed, and her overall aura was one of lifelessness. Allen watched nervously, wondering if the side-effects of the LVE finally disappeared, and she realized what she had done. She took her seat next to his, immediately pulling out a piece of scrap paper, intently writing something down. Another teacher, much to his surprise, came into the class and whispered something to the geology teacher. The teacher's face paled, then nodded, turning in the direction of the class. "Something has come up, and they need my assistance," he said, heading towards the door. "Until instructed, do not leave the classroom."

Upon his leave, confused sparks arose, making everyone buzz with chatter. Allen glanced at Lenalee, who continued to write as if her life depended on it, then finally passed the note to him. He took it, confused, and unfolded the paper:

_Gen. Yeegar is dead. The body was completely messed up. Looks like murder. I discovered the body. The teachers look as appalled as I did._

He dropped the note and looked at her. She stared at her desk, arms limp by her side. "It was worse than anything I've ever seen," she whispered, eyes barely making contact. "Like someone decided, after killing him, to rearrange all the body parts in some sick puzzle, then expected us to put him back together. He was so nice, too. So very kind." She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it right now. I know you said you never wanted to see us again, Allen, but can we all meet up at your house? Kanda was there, too, and he might've figured something out. I know you don't want to, but, please," her head bowed, "just this one time."

None of the students were paying attention to their conversation. Allen glanced around to double-check, then nodded. "All right. This time I will get better tea, too. Hey," he looked around the room again, "where is Lavi?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since we got to school, though he did say something about being exported to the battlegrounds within a week. Maybe he's preparing for that?" Her tone sounded sad, as if she didn't want him to go. He could relate; even though he didn't want to feel it, he cared for Lavi as much as he cared for Lenalee and, tragically, Kanda. "In any case, I'll gather them up and we'll meet you at your house." She gave a shy smile. "Peppermint tea's better than green tea, by the way."

"I was inclined to get some jasmine rice tea myself, but peppermint will work fine," he replied, then frowned. "Listen, about what I said earlier this morning––"

The P.A. system chimed loudly, and everyone looked towards the speaker. "Attention all students," a woman said, "please report to the auditorium floor. You will be directed by your teachers, and you must avoid the second floor. I repeat, do not go to the second floor, and go directly to the auditorium. Teachers, please . . ."

Allen rose from his seat. "I will tell you later when you arrive to my house. Until then."

She nodded and left the room ahead of him, catching up with a few girls. He lingered behind in the room for a moment, a sudden chill overcoming him. If someone could murder a general, then he, along with his fellow comrades, could be obliterated in seconds. Lenalee was lucky; what if the murderer was still around and decided to kill her, too? The thought made him cringe as he pictured Lenalee with her head chopped off, clothes torn and body slashed.

The auditorium was filled with lively chatter; only the teachers, besides Lenalee, looked grim. He looked around. Still no Lavi, and no Kanda, for that matter. He sat near the back of the room, watching as students piled into the room. The doors closed and guards stood in front of them, preventing anyone from leaving or coming in. He tried to settle down, but anxiety seeped into his brain. Where were they? Kanda knew of the murder. Was he looking for the murderer, or was he just skipping? What if Lavi didn't know, and was still wandering around?

"Future soldiers," the old man from before spoke, "it is of my unfortunate duty to tell you of the terrible events that have transpired during classes today. General Kevin Yeegar, longtime faculty of this school, has been killed under unusual circumstances."

The outcry, as Allen expected, was loud. The old man's gaze became colder as he tapped the microphone, sending a screech through the room. Nearly everyone cringed, the exceptions being the old man and the guards. "Settle down," he said. "This will not be the first time you will hear of a dead general in your lifetime. It will be common news out in the war. The reason it is under suspicion is because we believe it was caused by," he paused for a moment, eyes suddenly sharpened, "a member of the Earl's family, the Noah."

"But the Noah are just a legend!" cried a student.

"I'm afraid not," the old man said with a shake of his head. "Recent documentation proves of their existence, and that they are 'super humans.' They are not as easy to take down as the demons they control. Because of their invasion into schools, we are going to up the security around here. Any students found outside of class during sessions will be severely punished, and guard duty will be around in every hall. A new class will occur during your history lesson, teaching you of the Noah clan. And anyone," his eyes narrowed again, focusing in on several parts of the crowd, "thinking to betray the war's cause, take this as a warning. We will find you, and we will bring you down.

"I thank you for your time today. Now, go forth to your classes––your comrades, your race, needs you."

x~X~x

The Noah clan showed up in textbooks as a legend once or twice, the Earl's propaganda to make him appear stronger. Allen turned the page, ears listening for footsteps creaking on the front deck. They blended in with humans, looking normal and talking normal. The one discerning feature of the Noah, if they wanted to show it, was the stigmata that appeared onto their foreheads, and the sudden dark pigmentation of their skin. According to the text, only thirteen existed, with one renegade Noah who died trying to kill the Earl hundreds of years ago. However, it continued, they only needed the thirteen to wipe out six billion people. Each had their only special traits ("Dreams," it said, "being the first Noah's ability, and so on and so forth"), and they had powerful strength.

He closed the textbook. If the Earl had such forces, why was he waiting to kill everybody on the planet? Why toy with human beings when he could bring upon the apocalypse again and finally end the war? His brain hurt trying to comprehend the Earl's motives, if he had any at all. Timcanpy yipped, interrupting his thoughts, while crouching into a launching position. The door opened, making Allen look up, and Timcanpy charged through, tackling the intruder back onto the deck.

"_Che!_ Get your damn dog off me!" Kanda fended off the dog's fangs with his sheathed sword, though the claws continued to slash at the man's clothes. "I said get him off, damn it!"

"Timcanpy, come!" Allen snapped his fingers, summoning his pet back towards his feet. He continued to growl, however, as Kanda entered the house, scowl on his face. "I apologize," he said, "but he attacks anyone that he finds threatening. Since you continuously threaten to kill me, he must have smelled your murderous intent." He suppressed a laugh as Kanda's glare darkened at the dog. Timcanpy chewed on the small piece of fabric still stuck between his teeth.

"You owe me a new shirt, Moyashi." He tossed the battered article of clothing into the trash can, then zipped up his jacket completely. "Lenalee told me to come here, but I didn't see her anywhere. Is she here yet?"

"It's Allen, and no." He put the textbook aside and frowned. "Where were you during the assembly today?"

"Out. I had better things to do with my time, but I heard what they think happened." Kanda leaned against the wall near the bookcase, which held trash instead of actual books. "The clan of Noah. _Che._ If that's true, then those bastards are disturbing."

"If that is true?" Allen inquired as he began to clean up the floor again. "What, do you think something else happened?"

Kanda fell silent, hand reaching into his pocket. His eyes clouded, as if he were thinking (Allen was sure the man didn't think at all and only did things spur-of-the-moment). Sighing, he turned his head towards the front door, probably watching to see if Lenalee and Lavi were coming. "I don't know," he finally said. "If they said the Noah did it, then the Noah must have done it. I'm not going to spout damn conspiracy theories, especially not with you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He wanted to throw the book at Kanda. "If you have such a problem with me, how about you leave? This is my house, after all. I know I can beat you in a fight ten times out of ten, anyhow, so I could just make you leave by force."

"Hah! Don't make me laugh, _Moyashi._" Kanda looked down his nose at Allen. "You have no where near enough fighting experience I have, so take your bullshit elsewhere to people who'll actually believe you. You can't even reach me, let alone fight."

"I do not need to. Timcanpy?"

The dog started to prepare himself for another attack when Lenalee stepped through the door, ceasing the about-to-happen fight. Kanda glared at her, looking irritated that she dare disturbed his challenge of the day. Allen smiled, secretly relieved at the timing of her arrival, and motioned for Timcanpy to stand down. She looked between them, then sighed. "Were you two about to get into another fight?" she asked, petting the dog. "I swear, I can't leave you two alone for ten minutes without a brawl occurring. Allen's house is a mess as is."

"I was cleaning it up, until idiot-Kanda interrupted me!"

"Who're you calling an idiot, bean sprout?"

"Stop fighting!" She whacked her bag over both of their heads. "After what I've seen today, I don't want to see anymore blood, please!"

At that argument, Allen's fighting spirit diminished. He returned to picking up the trash as Kanda, appearing defeated, sat on the couch, keeping an eye on Timcanpy. Lenalee plopped her bag near the door and shook her head. "To think that an Earl's creation could create such a scene," she murmured, taking a seat beside Kanda. "It's like general Yeegar didn't have a chance. All that blood . . ." She shivered. "I mean, it's probably nothing compared to the battlefield, but, for whatever reason, it's just . . ."

"The deaths of soldiers are much cleaner and less disturbing than that." Kanda frowned. "_Che._ I bet the cleaning crew are bitching as we speak. Other than the man's hair and identification tag in his pocket, there wasn't much to determine if he was the general." The frown deepened. "It was planned for a while, and I guarantee you it's a message."

"A message?" Lenalee looked away from Allen's cleaning spree and furrowed her eyebrows in Kanda's direction. "A message to who?"

His mouth opened, but the stumbling of a red-haired comrade interrupted him. Lavi grinned widely, fidgeting with his bandana. "Sorry I'm so late! I had to finish what I started, and the old man was relentless in drilling me questions about certain things, and then there was the interview with some of the generals after the murder. Speaking of, holy crap. I've never seen a body so dismantled before in my life."

"I suppose I should be grateful for being the only one who did not see it," Allen said, dumping another bag of trash near the back door. "Where were you today, anyway? You were not at the assembly, nor were you in classes. Did you purposely skip?"

"I had reasons." Lavi's grin darkened, his eyes slightly narrowing, telling Allen that any other questions might result in more confusion. "But, that aside, while not attending classes and whatever, I came across something great." He pulled several sheets of rolled up paper out of his back pocket, handing it to Lenalee. "They didn't really keep it well-hidden, so it was kinda easy to find."

Kanda and Allen gathered around Lenalee, wanting a glimpse of Lavi's document. In bold letters, it read:** "ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIAL: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."** Beneath that, a second header: **"LVE –– THE PREPARATION OF THE DRUG, THE KNOWN SIDE-EFFECTS, AND WAYS TO TAKE DOWN ABUSERS."**

It took Allen a moment, after rereading the headers again, before it kicked in. "You stole this from the government!"

Lavi raised his hands in defense. "I made a copy! The real version is still back in the school's locked-down offices. When the guards got called down to the second floor, I decided to take a sneak-peek at what they were hiding. So, after getting this, I decided to experiment in the lab before I had other commitments to attend to." He waved his hand dismissively before reaching into his coat pocket. "It took a while, making several bad batches, but I think I got it down."

He tossed Allen a small bag, one labeled "Pens and Shit." He shot a confused glance at the redhead before opening the pouch. Pens, all different sizes, cluttered it, making him more confused until he saw something underneath the pens. They were small, dark blue, and had a small inscription on them––sloppy, as if engraved upon with an exacto-knife––reading, "LVE." Allen reached into the bag and pulled it out, eyes wide and mouth agape. "You," he started, unable to find words, "you . . ."

"You made some?" Lenalee finished, dropping the document.

"_Che._ How did an idiot like you not get caught?" Kanda took the bag from Allen and pulled another pill out. "If you were in the school the whole damn time, there had to be teachers in there eventually, and . . ." He grimaced. "That's why you weren't at the stupid-ass assembly."

Lavi whistled. "Wow, Yuu. You got me all figured out. Pretty good timing, too, what with general Yeegar getting murdered and whatnot. Not saying that it's a good thing, but it was really convenient." He leaned against the wall, grin slowly dropping off his face. "Though the circumstances were really unusual. It's even got the old guy worried. The clan of Noah, huh? I thought those guys were just a legend that the Earl created to scare us. There haven't been much physical evidence about their whereabouts, so it's bizarre that the school would jump to such a conclusion."

Lenalee nodded. "When I came out of the bathroom, though, there was no one there, just the general's body, looking like it had just happened. As you know, on the second floor, there are no classrooms, just locker rooms and teacher offices, and the teacher offices are locked. They can only be opened by teachers, generals, and guards. Do the Noah have such a power to go through doors and hide like that?"

Allen picked up the book he read earlier. "It said in here that the Noah had a wide spectrum of powers, such as 'Dreams.' But I have no clue about the other powers."

"In the assembly, they said they had 'recent documentation.'" Lenalee turned towards Lavi. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Not yet," he said with a sigh. "I've been really busy, sorry. Except the LVE document, I didn't have much time to go snooping through more government files. What I do know, though, is that they want to up the guards within the school for better protection, and there's gonna be a night-watch, too. It seems like everyone's convinced about the Noah existing and that they're planning an attack on that facility."

"But why our school? Wouldn't it make sense if they targeted, say, the head of operations in America first?" She paused, then clapped her hands together. "Unless they want to make an example out of the generals, saying that they can beat us whenever they want!"

Lavi nodded. "Seems that way. With no other proof, that theory stands."

"Proof."

Kanda's voice, hollowed and distant, caught Allen's attention. The man, with his arms folded across his chest and legs crossed, stared downward, eyes fogged over, as if he were deep in thought. "Proof," he muttered again, voice quieter. Lenalee and Lavi, absorbed with bouncing theories around, didn't hear him, but Allen studied him over, observing him put his hand into his pocket. "_Che,_" he finished, snapping his head towards the window.

"Anyway," Lavi said, interrupting Allen's silent question, "since I made the drug, I wanted to ask all of you something. I know it's against the law, and I know how much trouble we'll get in if we continue using it." He took out a blue pill from his own pocket and stared at it. "The thing is, I liked it. I liked the feeling that accompanied it. And I know that I'm not the only one. But I also know that you," he focused his attention on Allen, "don't like it."

He breathed in sharply. "You want to use it again," he said, feeling his own voice shake. "I thought I told you I did not want any of that in my house anymore. In fact, you all should not be in here, anyway, though Lenalee did ask nicely."

"I know, I know." Lavi shrugged. "And I respect your wishes. But I'm asking the others, since we're all here anyway. And if they want it," he gave an expectant look to the other two guests, "then we'll go elsewhere. We'll leave you alone forever if you want, and this'll be the last time you'll be part of our little congregation. So," he turned towards them, "what do you guys say?"

_Alone?_ Allen felt his arm twitch, and he shook his head. He didn't want to hear the little voice torment him again. He managed to ignore it the whole day, and was distracted enough with the murder and the Noah that it didn't bother him. Now, however, as he faced the others and the drug, he could feel it creeping up to his ear, ready to whisper its inner thoughts. He tried to focus on the others' reactions to Lavi's proposition instead, only to hear the cackle again. _Alone?_ He gritted his teeth, hoping it wouldn't start again.

_"Yes, Allen. Alone. Like you'll always will be. After all, you're a soldier. It's only natural, correct? Fighting until you die, and no one will remember you. Oh, except you won't be fighting, but instead slaving away, creating weapons for the others, knowing no one cared about you, and that no one ever will––"_

"I will take it!"

The voice halted. Lavi blinked, Lenalee stared, and Kanda frowned. Allen couldn't look at them, but he managed to say it again. "I will take it, too."

_". . . What?"_ the arm sounded baffled. He forced himself to calm down with a shaky breath, then nodded at his own decision. _"You can't be serious. You don't have the guts to follow through with that outlandish claim. You, who is weaker than weak, cannot honestly take a chance like––"_

"You sure, Allen?" Lavi looked at him up and down. "Just this morning, a few minutes ago even, you were saying how you didn't want it. What brought this on? Allen?" He wasn't listening to Lavi anymore. He quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, then filled it with water with shaking hands. "Allen, what are you . . ."

The voice started shouting at him, but he ignored it. He took the blue pill he took out of the bag earlier and popped it into his mouth, then swallowed. His deformed arm quaked, as if angered, but the voice faded out. He wiped away the excess water from his lips. It was the second time, he realized, that he willingly took the drug. He felt multiple gazes fixed upon him as he staggered his way back into the living room.

"A-Allen?" Lenalee gripped her pigtail until her knuckles turned white. "What's gotten into you?"

"I do not know." He squeezed himself between Lenalee and Kanda, fingers digging into his skull. He laughed wearily. "I suppose this means you may stay in my house, then. Maybe this time I will remember what happens."

"That's right, you forgot last time." Lavi went into the kitchen and retrieved three glasses full of water and handed one to Kanda and Lenalee. "I wonder why that happened? Are you sure you really can't remember any––"

x~X~x

_Rain. The well was on the borderline of overflowing. He stood beneath a willow tree, looking out and watching vehicles rush by. The pink umbrella was long discarded, given off to his "sister" of sorts, and left him dripping in small puddles. His meeting, however, was far more important than a small chance of hypothermia. He flipped open his pocket watch, frowning as he observed the time. "He's late," he muttered with a shake of his head. "For a master of time, he certainly takes forever getting here."_

_"Now, now," a voice came from behind him, "no need to be so mean."_

_He turned, facing the shadow in front of him. Like him, the man had no umbrella, though the top hat protected his head. "You were the one who set this meeting up," he retorted, putting both hands in his pockets. "And in such a place where everyone can see! As much as I believe you're a genius, brother, this was pretty dumb of you."_

_"They're just humans." The shadow smiled. "They will deny anything that they don't want to see, and they especially don't want to see their doom. That aside, did you prepare what I asked of you yet?"_

_"It's going to take more time." He forced a smile. "You have to be more patient. Rushing things will make it inevitable that the war we're about to bring onto this planet will fail, but we can't take forever, either. Have you secured every branch of government with the remaining brothers and sisters? I heard Sheryl is having fun over in Europe, what with foiling any other alliances with the U.S., and Lulubell is taking her sweet time dragging down Greece's economy."_

_"Don't worry about that now." The shadow stepped towards him. "Once the global economy tanks, we will make our move. You're right, saying that moving too quickly will ruin us. But please be patient. I know what happens when you think something should happen faster. This war," the shadow's grin widened, "will obliterate that God and His creations, forever, and we will finally bring about the utopia where only we roam the Earth, accompanied by our demons."_

_He frowned, then whispered, "But wouldn't that be boring?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"No, nothing." He sloshed through the large puddles, feeling a small chill run down his back. "I am craving some steak. Let's get some. I know a place downtown that serves the best ever."_

x~X~x

He gasped awake, sweat rolling down the side of his face. Lenalee moved beside him, blanket covering her as she gripped him closer. They were on the couch, surrounded in darkness with curtains drawn on each window. Rain pattered against the windows, and thunder rumbled in the sky, chasing away the fogginess of his dream. Was it a dream? It felt real, like memories. He shook his head and carefully moved himself away from Lenalee. He didn't remember getting next to her. All he remembered was a snippet of Lavi's question, and then nothing. Like last time.

The lamp in the corner flickered as lightning flashed overhead. Kanda lay on the floor, eyes scrunched up in a restless sleep. Lavi's coat rested next to him, but no sign of Lavi. Was he up? Allen readjusted his gloves before walking into the kitchen. He prepared himself a glass of water when the power flickered out for good. Frowning, he took a sip of water before placing the glass back onto the counter.

Something clattered to the floor.

Allen froze; his eyes searched through the murky darkness, trying to pinpoint where the noise came from. No one was behind him, so he used his hands to pat the area around him, getting him back into the living room. He could make out Kanda and Lenalee in the dark, both still asleep.

"Lavi?" he whispered, though it was drowned out by another roar of thunder.

He walked through the living room and down the hall, checking his bedroom first. Timcanpy curled himself up on Allen's unused pillow and buried his head beneath a blanket. "Lavi?" he whispered again. No one answered.

The power made a weak attempt to resurrect itself as he turned back down the hall, checking his training room. Other than the mouse he tried to get rid of for several months, nothing stirred within the room. He closed the door, frown deepening. Where was he? Was he outside, in the storm? He started to head towards the front door when he paused before the restroom, something too familiar attracting his attention.

His knife, the same one he tried to hack off his deformed arm with, rested on the floor.

Allen swallowed hard as he picked it up, touching the blade and feeling something wet seep through his glove. The blade fell from his fingertips when he spotted the figure lying on the floor. The power flickered once more, revealing the familiar mop of red hair, stained darker than normal with bloody hands resting beside the strands. He stared, unable to look away, as he watched the small stream of red trickle from Lavi's right eye . . . or what was left of it.

x~X~x

**Ah, chapter done, finally. Happy Easter! If you feel inclined, leave a review; I will greatly appreciate it. I do hope to see you in the next chapter! {Nobody Odd}**


	5. Hey, Little Songbird

**I am so sorry for neglecting this. Even my girlfriend was all, "I ain't paying food for you if you ain't gonna update." I... I'm starting to get hungry... Also, thanks to those who reviewed and sent me messages! You guys motivated me too!**

**Disclaimer: Hey Hoshino! Where's the next chapter? (One chapter every three months isn't so bad, right guys?)**

Five: Hey, Little Songbird

"_You're so pathetic. What happened to not growing to care for them?"_

Allen ignored his arm's taunts as he sat in the waiting room, eyes downcast. The lights overhead washed the color out of his face, or at least that was the excuse he gave to the medicine-trained soldiers when he brought Lavi in. Showing worry, or compassion, or any form of emotion other than being a comrade to one another was frowned upon, and aroused suspicion. It was bad enough that Lenalee and Kanda insisted—_insisted!—_to come along to the hospital.

"He's . . ." She fumbled over the words when Allen said he was taking Lavi.

"_Che._ The idiot is important to us. Why the hell else would we want to come?"

"But, three soldiers when one is enough?"

"Look at you, _Moyashi._ You're a fucking twig. How the hell are you going to carry this idiot by yourself? Answer: you can't, 'cause you suck. We're coming with you, and that's final."

He gave up on persuading them otherwise.

Soldiers shuffled through the halls, boots clicking against the floor as they pushed trolleys chock-full of medical supplies down from room to room. He purposely avoided their accusatory gazes, biting his lower lip as Kanda and Lenalee sat in opposite corners of the room. Lenalee continued to twist one of her ponytails, gaze fixated on the wall. Kanda folded his arms across his chest, glare aimed at the lone clock hanging on the wall. It was hard, pretending to be disinterested in two people. Well, Kanda not so much, but it was hard to ignore Lenalee and the shimmer of tears betraying her facade of calmness.

The silence hung over the room, suffocating any chances of conversation. Lavi was good at breaking the ice by asking questions, and he probably would've struck up a topic with one of the soldiers patrolling the hospital. He would've gotten information about the building and its security in less than ten minutes. Allen sighed, shaking the thought away. After recent events, he wasn't certain if learning and questioning things was a good idea.

A tall soldier came into the room, flipping through papers on a clipboard. "Is anyone here to claim responsibility for . . . soldier ID seven-four-ninety?"

Kanda glanced at Allen, indicating he didn't want to take responsibility at all. Inhaling, he rose his hand, and the soldier walked in his direction, still flipping through sheets of paper on the clipboard. "Well, he's lucky he's alive, that's for certain. Should the blade have gone further, it would have penetrated his brain, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. However, that does not mean everything is all right." The soldier frowned. "It appears to have been self-inflicted. Are you certain it was just a practice-related accident?"

"I am certain." The trembling in Allen's voice didn't appear to convince the soldier, but he shrugged and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"There was severe damage to his right eye. Judging by the damage done, I cannot say that he will not suffer long-term, if not permanent, blindness of that eye. In fact, I can say he will stay blind, which will halve his depth perception, and therefore, with no depth perception . . ."

Allen nodded. Lavi could no longer fight, and was classified as "impaired," which mean his days of training to become a general halted completely.

"Is his mentor around? I must disclose this information with him immediately . . ."

"He is . . ."

"Downstairs." Kanda huffed, rolling his eyes. "Said he was going to find something to eat."

Allen shot him a puzzled look, and the soldier nodded. "I will go see him, then. If you excuse me."

The soldier left the room, and Allen glared. "What do you think you are doing? His mentor is no where to be found here! Once they figure that out, we will get in trouble!"

Kanda rolled his eyes again. "You idiot. I did this to buy us time. Soldiers aren't allowed in other soldiers' hospital rooms. We can question him about his actions now. Also . . ." His hand shifted to his pocket, clenching at something Allen couldn't see. "I have to ask him about something that's bothering me. If anyone can figure it out, it's him. Let's get going."

"W-Wait!" Lenalee shook her head. "If we get caught . . .!"

"_Che._ We won't. End of story." Kanda left the room, disappearing around the corner. Lenalee and Allen exchanged looks before hesitantly following after him.

The other soldiers were preoccupied, talking to one another as the three hurried towards Lavi's hospital room. If Allen's nerves weren't already on edge, this would have done it, but now he was possibly facing cardiac arrest. Getting caught meant breaking the law. Breaking the law meant becoming monitored. And becoming monitored would surely reveal their taking of the LVE. He swallowed hard, averting the gazes of everyone. One look, and they would see how guilty he was.

A door slid open. He almost gasped, until he realized that Kanda was the one who opened the door in front of them. A small scrap of paper rested beneath the door number, proudly showing Lavi's name in black Sharpie marker. Allen inhaled, wishing himself to disappear as the three entered the room.

Lavi himself didn't look so bad; his skin seemed slightly paler (Allen wondered if it was because of the bright lighting overhead), his clothes were replaced with mandatory hospital wear, and an IV was stuck in his arm. However, when Allen's gaze shifted upward, reaching the contours of his face, the horrid white bandage greeted him, covering one of his green eyes. Regardless, Lavi was smiling at them, almost as if he expected them, and waved his hand for them to come over. Kanda closed the door behind them (not before Allen had the chance to double-check and make sure no one saw them) and they approached his bed.

"I _knew_ you guys would come and see me. Man, just imagine all the trouble you guys would be in if anyone saw you now!" He grinned, though Allen didn't feel relieved. "Aw, c'mon, why so tense?"

"Why so tense?" Kanda growled and sat at the edge of the bed. "Did you _really _just ask that? You stabbed your goddamned _eye_ out is why we're so tense. What the hell were you thinking, _Baka Usagi?_"

Lavi's smile faltered. "Ah. I should've known you guys would ask. But I bet if you think hard enough, you guys would know."

"An impairment." Allen stared down at his gloved hand. "You gave yourself an impairment so that you did not have to fight in the war."

"Ding-ding! And the award goes to Allen!" Lavi tried to smile again, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He sighed. "Look, I did it for myself. I didn't want to become a general, okay? And taking the LVE made me a _liiiiittle_ crazy, so I took, er, drastic measures, you know?" He glanced around the three. "Guys, I'm not suicidal or anything, believe me. I just made myself a little blind. Wow, that sounds weird. Let's just drop it for now, okay?"

"You shouldn't speak of the drug here!" Lenalee swatted Lavi's shoulder, eyes slightly narrowed as she shot a quick glance at the door. "We have no idea when someone's going to come and check on you, so we should probably get going." She turned to Allen and Kanda, expression pleading as she gripped one of her ponytails. "Right?"

Allen nodded, moving away from Lavi's hospital bed. "I hope you feel better soon, Lavi."

"Don't worry, I'm pain-free right now because of the drugs they gave me." He grinned. "I'll be out of here before you know it, unless there was rust on that knife of yours, Allen. Getting tetanus would suck."

Kanda rummaged through his pocket as Lenalee and Allen made their way towards the door. "Wait a minute. I still didn't do what I came here to do yet."

Lenalee's hand hesitated on the door handle, eyes wearily looking out the small glass window embedded in the door frame, then let her hand fall back to her side. Allen shook his head. "We do not have time right now! At any minute, someone is going to come in here, and—"

The man turned and glared at him. "Shut the hell up and quit _bitching_ for five-goddamn-minutes, _Moyashi!_ This is more important than dealing with those punk-ass soldiers wandering around like gophers outside this room!" He huffed as Allen fell silent, eyes shifting from Kanda to the door every five seconds. "Anyways, now that I finally have your goddamn attention. Lenalee, remember finding the general's body?"

She shivered. "Y-Yes. What of it?"

"Are you _sure_ you didn't see anyone?"

"I'm positive. When I came out of the restroom, I rounded the corner, and the general was on the floor, already dead, and . . ." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe the Clan of Noah, that legend, are able to tear apart the human body so easily."

"Neither can I." Kanda pulled out a slightly-worn piece of paper out of his pocket, smoothing out the wrinkles before opening it fully. "Before the teachers came around, I saw this sticking out of his pocket." He handed it to Lavi. "Read this, and tell me what you think it means."

"Whaaaaat? You're going to make me read while I'm in the hospital? You can be so cruel, Yuu-chan." Lavi pouted, but took the paper anyway, lone eye gazing at the sheet of paper. "Let's see here . . . 'Target: General Kevin Yeegar, suspected of treason. To school officials: go into Gen. Yeegar's office and recover following files: _Black Sheep _/ _LVE: The Drug and its Abusers_ / _Operation: Devil Pact_ . . .' Wait." Lavi looked up from the sheet of paper. "This is a government-issued paper. The seal of the country is in the corner."

"_Che._ Keep reading."

"Fine, fine." Lavi sighed. "Uh, where was I . . . A bunch of file names, then . . . 'Do not read files obtained from the hard drive of computer. Doing so will be an act of treason. To Soldier Assigned Mission: Mutilate the body of Gen. Yeegar beyond human means. Relocate body into school. Pin on Clan of Noah. Confirmed proof shows this can be done by the Noah of Pleasure . . .'" He trailed off, blinking once, before dropping the sheet of paper onto the bed. "This is a hit issued by the government," he whispered.

Silence. Kanda picked up the paper after a few moments, eyes narrowed. "I picked this sheet up before anyone else could see it," he said, voice tense. "The school still came to the same conclusion that the Noah did it. But I doubt they figured out that the government did it yet. _Baka Usagi,_" he pointed to the file names on the sheet of paper, "do you think these would still be on the general's computer?"

Lenalee gasped, eyes growing wide. "You don't mean . . ."

He frowned. "There's something irking me. Why would the government specifically say to _not_ read the files on the computer?" When no one answered, he nodded. "It can only be one thing, and that's because they're hiding something from _us_, their goddamn _pawns._ First they use us, and now they're doing something behind our backs." He turned to Lavi. "If I get the computer, what are the chances of you being able to hack into it?"

"Wa-wa-wait a second!" Allen tried, and failed, to keep his voice from shaking. "You cannot be serious, Kanda! Only generals and up can have a computer, and besides, the entire second floor of the school is swarming with guards! There is no way—"

"Shut _up!_" Kanda snapped, growling. "You're a part of this, too, whether you like it or not, now grow a goddamn spine and listen!" He grabbed Allen by the collar. "You already broke the law, several times, by taking the LVE alongside us. You broke the law by giving a shit about us. You broke the law by coming in here and talking with us. _Moyashi,_" his grip tightened, "you're one of _us_ now, and _they_ aren't on your side. Not anymore."

Allen broke free from his grasp, panting. Lenalee bit her lower lip, leaning against the wall as she constantly looked at the door. Kanda sighed, folding his arms across his chest. After a moment, Lavi nodded. "If you guys can get the computer, I should be able to hack into it," he said, tilting his head. "I've only used a computer a few times, but it shouldn't be that hard to figure out, right? But Allen's right, Yuu—the second floor is completely off-limits to those who aren't full-fledged soldiers. And with the threat of the Noah and whatnot, I doubt you can get through them and into the general's room."

Kanda put the paper back in his pocket, then made his way to the door. "How long are you going to be here for, Lavi?"

"Huh? Uh, two, three more days for tests and stuff. Why?"

"Then I'll come up with something before then." Kanda slid open the door and left the room, heading down the hall. Allen and Lenalee hurried to follow him, glancing back at Lavi, who waved, and sped-walk down the hall.

"Do you think he's got a plan?" Lenalee whispered as they dodged looks from fellow soldiers.

"I do not know. Whatever it is, though," Allen replied, shaking his head, "I doubt it is going to work."

x~X~x

"Are you _crazy?_ Not only is that not going to work, they are going to laugh at us when we get caught!"

Everyone in the lunch hall turned in his direction, making him laugh sheepishly and stare at the remains of his food. The normal chatter resumed, though some classmates continued to glance in Allen's direction, who started to poke at his leftovers with his fork. Kanda grimaced, glaring at those who dared to steal a glance at the white-haired teen, then focused his glare on Allen.

"Way to attract attention, _Moyashi,_" he seethed, twirling some noodles around a pair of chopsticks before having another bite. "You do that enough with the disgusting amount of food you eat. What are you trying to do, eat the entire school's share that could last a month?"

"Guys!" Lenalee interjected before Allen could manage a retort. "We need to focus, all right? We don't have that much time. Lunch will be over in ten minutes, and since we don't have any other plan, we're going to have to do it this way. But, the thing is, you guys will have a time limit of five minutes, tops, to get in, get the computer, and get out." She took a sip of her water and nervously stared at her empty plate. "It's not that I doubt you two, but . . ."

But it's too little time. Allen glanced at Kanda, who didn't seem to care about the severely-constraining time limit. Undoubtedly, the door to the general's office would be locked, and kicking it down was not an option, since they didn't want to attract attention. They would have to pick the lock somehow, and Allen didn't know how to do that, and he doubted Kanda had the patience to.

"If we wait any longer, the teachers will catch on," Kanda replied, voice hushed. "Then they'll take the computer, and we'll lose our chance. Do we really have time to bitch about a five-minute time constraint? The government killed Yeegar, and we don't know why."

Lenalee glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. "If we're going to do this, we have to now. Are you sure, Kanda? Sometimes it's better to leave things alone, but . . ." She sighed. "I can't lie, it's got me curious, too. What has happened to me . . .?"

"I'm sure." He rose from his seat, beckoning Allen to follow him. "You know what you need to do, right, Lenalee?"

"Yeah." She discarded the remains of her food and brushed one of her ponytails back past her shoulder. "Yeah. Just, you guys, if things start looking bad, promise me you'll run for it, okay? Because I, uh, you know." She looked at her feet, appearing flustered. "That word Lavi used that I can't say here."

_Because I "love" you._ Allen managed a faint, reassuring smile. Lenalee would normally never say such things. Was this the permanent side-effect of the drug? Caring for each other, questioning authority, and wanting to touch someone? Kanda snorted, heading out the lunch hall's door. Allen paused, looking back at Lenalee, who nodded firmly. Swallowing down the fear that threatened to consume him, he followed Kanda, accepting his newfound fate of becoming an official traitor.

"So we wait for the alarm?" he asked, trying to catch up.

"Yes." Kanda paused in front of the door leading to the second floor, then ducked in a corner, eyes narrowed. He grabbed Allen before he could head to the opposite corner, and pulled him closer, shaking his head. "You idiot. The door swings this way. The soldiers would see you in an instant if you hid there. So stay here. _Che._"

It was happening again, like what happened the first time he took the drug, when he woke up and found that Lavi and, to some degree, Lenalee were holding him. It was a small, fluttery feeling, one that urged him to reach out and, despite how much he hated him, touch Kanda. He wanted to press his entire body against Kanda, wanted to feel that strange, yet comforting, warmth he felt before. His hands reached up, ignoring whatever it was Kanda was trying to say, and—

The fire alarm blared, making him jump. The wailing sound made his ears burn, forcing him to clasp his hands over his ears. Kanda gripped him closer as the door swung open, nearly hitting both of them, as the patrolling soldiers hurried up and down the stairs, someone shouting orders to evacuate the students off the grounds. Allen dared not to move; his hands, moved away from his ears, tugged at the fabric of Kanda's shirt to calm himself down. The number of soldiers leaving the second floor began dwindling.

"What?" Kanda was saying something, but the alarm made it impossible to hear what it was. A few more soldiers ran by, and the door completely closed, indicating there were (probably) no more soldiers patrolling the floor.

"I said, _let's go_," he replied louder, opening the door and hurrying inside.

Allen hesitated for a moment, looking back over his shoulder to see if any soldiers were coming back up, then followed Kanda onto the blocked-off second floor. The doors of all the generals were closed, and the lights were off. Yellow caution tape surrounded a small space, where blood was splattered on the walls and floor. _That's where the general was killed, wasn't it?_ Allen glanced at the nameplates of the doors, trying to find Yeegar's room—_Klaud Nyne, Zokalo Winter, Froi Tiedoll_—and stopping in front of one of them even though it wasn't General Yeegar's.

"The hell are you doing, _Moyashi?_ We don't have all day!"

_Cross Marian._ The name sounded familiar, almost bitterly so, yet he couldn't pinpoint why. It was like a faded memory, one unpleasant, that he forced himself to forget. "My apologies," he muttered, staring at the plate for a moment longer before following Kanda. Where _did_ he know that name from?

General Yeegar's door, as expected, was locked. Kanda pulled something out from his pocket as Allen, under instruction, kept watch in case somebody decided to come back upstairs and see if anyone was lurking around. He spotted someone, clothed in black, down the hall, armed with heavy weapons and face covered in a gas mask. "K-Kanda," he said urgently, "someone is coming this way!"

"_Che!_" He fumbled with something small and shiny (a paperclip?) and continued to penetrate the lock, almost half-desperately, as Allen began backing up, hoping the strange man in the mask wouldn't see them. "Son of a—work, damn it, work for me, or I'll break you into a billion pieces, so work_,_ damn it—!"

"Kanda, _do something!_" Allen almost shrieked when the soldier turned in their direction, the head tilting as if the soldier saw something amiss. Kanda growled, and, with a swift turning of the doorknob, opened it. He grabbed Allen by the wrist and pulled him inside, kicking the door shut as the two fell to the floor, the alarm drowning out the loud slam that would have otherwise echoed down the hallway. Neither moved as the silhouette of the soldier passed in front of the door, shadow cast on the matted window.

The doorknob turned. Kanda pushed Allen off quickly and turned the lock, making the doorknob stop. The soldier paused, then, seeming appeased, moved away from the door and onto the next one, apparently testing to make sure everything was locked down and untouched. He slumped a little as Allen shakily sat up.

"Holy shit," Kanda said through a grimace.

"I-I think I lost some years off my lifespan, myself."

He sighed, standing up straight and brushing off the dirt on his clothes. "All right, so, if I were a computer, what would I look like, and where would I be?"

"You do not know what a computer is, Kanda?" Allen frowned as he stood up and approached the large desk sitting in the middle of the room. "I only saw one once, but they sort of looked like . . . like this." He picked up the rectangle-shaped, thin object resting on the table, attached to some cord. "Only it had, like, a screen and a bright light coming from it. Wait a minute . . ." His fingers slid between the thin line surrounding three-fourths of the block and, with a bolt of inspiration, pushed it open. The screen was black, but he knew it was the computer. "Talk about luck, this is it!"

Kanda looked up from rifling through the bookcase, and placed the books back. He rose an eyebrow. "That small-ass thing is a computer? How the hell is it of any use?"

"I heard, from Lavi, that they used these often in the B.E. era, and that they were one of the most prized possessions of people back then. There was this strange thing using radio waves and whatnot that could connect people without having to see one another. I cannot remember what it was called, however." Allen frowned, handing the computer to Kanda. "But, can you imagine it? An entire world connected through this small, square object? It must have been fascinating."

He rolled his eyes, taking the computer and its cord before shoving it into his bag. "Connecting to people all over the world? I can barely stand the ones within five feet of me. Let's get going. We don't have much time left."

The alarm suddenly fell silent. Allen blinked as Kanda's hand froze around the doorknob. Five minutes were up. Muttering something, Kanda flung the door open, locking it behind him before gripping Allen by the forearm and pulling him along. The padding of boot-clad feet trailing behind them indicated the soldiers were coming back to their stations, and quickly. Kanda ducked into the bathroom as a platoon of soldiers opened the backstairs door, laughing and talking about something.

"W-We are going to get caught," Allen began stuttering, but Kanda slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut the hell up," he replied in a hushed, but still equally violent as before, tone. "And stop being such a goddamn pessimist. That's supposed to be _my_ job, damn it. You're supposed to annoy the shit out of me with your stupid-ass comments and your raspy tenor."

_What is that supposed to mean?_ Allen wanted to glare at him, but Kanda was too busy pressing his ear against the door, listening for something. He wondered if Lenalee was worried sick right now, berating herself for letting them do something so profoundly dangerous. He could see her having a death grip on one of her ponytails as she bit her lower lip, eyes searching for them within the crowd. He was surprised that she had enough courage to pull the fire alarm to begin with.

"Now." Kanda opened the bathroom door and hurried down the hall, Allen quickly following behind him. They reached the stairwell and opened the door, only to be greeted by a soldier-in-training, wandering up the stairs with a bag resting against his side. The student blinked, dark eyes narrowing as a pudgy finger jabbed in Kanda's direction.

"What do you think you are doing? That floor is off-limits, you know!"

Kanda stood in front of Allen, pushing him back as he glared at the scraggly-haired student. "I know damn well it's off-limits. Do I look like I give a shit? What the hell are you doing in here, anyway? Students aren't allowed back in until all soldiers are deployed back in the school."

The scraggly-haired student fumbled through his bag and pulled out a gun, though his arm was shaking from hoisting it already. "I'm with the student council, and it's my duty to protect the school with everything I've got, which means dealing with threats like you!"

"Student coun . . .? Oh, hell, you're that Chaoji kid, aren't you?" Kanda groaned, as if the name was the worst thing to befall the Earth second to the war itself. "Listen. I don't give a shit if you're drunk on 'bringing justice on all evil-doers,' but you aren't going to mess with me or him today. I'm really, _really_ not in the mood to deal with another idiot."

Chaoji's gun didn't waver. "D-Don't move, I'm going to call a general up here!"

Kanda moved regardless, pulling his sword (where did he get that?) out of its sheathe. Chaoji froze, eyes focused on the blade, as Kanda took another step forward. "I really hate people like you, you know. You blindly act in according with the law without asking a damn question. I bet," Kanda's lips quirked into a malicious grin, "you are absolutely in _love_ with following the rules, aren't you?"

Allen repressed a gasp as Chaoji took a step back, mouth agape. "Y-You . . . You used one of the Millennium Earl's words! You're . . . You're a traitor! You're an agent, aren't you? You must have been the one who killed the general, too!"

The gun fell from his fingertips when Kanda knocked it away with his sword. "Don't spout bullshit that isn't true. I don't like the Earl as much as I don't like this school, the government, or _you._" The sword pressed against Chaoji's neck. "Don't test me."

"I-I'll scream for help! I really will!"

Allen blinked, and Kanda's sword clattered to the floor, abandoned. Chaoji suddenly fell down the stairs, collapsing harshly against the stone platform, as Kanda cracked his knuckles. "There's an artery," he said, picking up his sword, "in your neck, and if you hit it just right, it'll either give you a headache, knock you out, put you in a coma, or kill you. For your sake, I hope it's not that last option." He turned to Allen. "Hurry up. Lenalee's waiting for us."

They stepped over the unmoving body of Chaoji (Kanda put the gun in the poor sap's bag) and walked back to the first floor, where students were starting to flourish and chat as they made their ways back to the classrooms. Lenalee stood near the locker area, fingers laced together as she nervously glanced through the group, looking for someone. Her eyebrows perked up as she spotted them and waved.

"Oh god, I was so nervous!" she said when they approached. "Are you two okay? Did you manage to get it?"

"In my bag." Kanda motioned to it briefly. "And I'm fine. The bean sprout almost screamed like a little girl when a soldier almost caught us, though."

"I did not!" He glared at him. "Stop making up lies about me!"

"It wasn't a lie." Kanda snorted.

"It is! Do not listen to him, Lenalee!"

"Whatever. The point is, we need to get out of here for the rest of the day." Kanda's eyes cut over towards the stairwell. "We had a problem with a student council member."

Lenalee stared at him. "What did you . . .?"

"Hopefully not killed him." He readjusted the strap on his bag. "_Hell,_ whatever that thing is, it's adding a lot of weight to my bag. Anyway, the point is, we're leaving early. Taking a vacation. Whatever the terminology is. Also, _Moyashi?_"

Allen frowned. "It's Allen."

"Whatever. Next time," he said as the three continued out of the hall and into the school's lobby, "we're leaving this job to the _Baka Usagi._"

For once, Allen agreed with him.

x~X~x

Because Kanda was with them, no one questioned why the three suddenly disappeared from the school grounds after the fire alarm went off. When a teacher confronted him about it as they ate their lunches, he replied, "Because I wanted to train against them, and because I can do whatever the hell I want. Got a problem?" And, before Allen could apologize for his rash behavior, the teacher muttered an apology and left it well alone. No one else asked, and no one approached them about the student council member's sudden coma.

"Why do they leave you alone like that?" Allen couldn't help but asking as they made their way back to their classes. Kanda only shrugged.

They gathered at his house again. Timcanpy greeted him enthusiastically, tail wagging, until he spotted Kanda, whereupon he charged and tackled the man onto the porch.

"Son of a—_damn it!_" He grabbed the dog by the throat and tried to get out from underneath him. "You damn bean sprout, get your goddamn dog off of me, or I swear I'm going to kill it and use its fur as my next coat!"

"Timcanpy, come!" Allen snapped his fingers, and the dog regretfully left his target behind. "I would say sorry, but sometimes I believe you deserve it."

The house didn't look as bad as last time. The evening before, when he received the news that Lavi was to be discharged from the hospital that day, he managed to completely get rid of the trash and somehow managed to make it look presentable: The mountain of dirty dishes were stacked neatly and cleanly in the cupboards; he vacuumed the rugs and mopped the floors; the newspapers were disposed of; the trash bags were put outside, where retired soldiers labeled as "garbage men" took them away; the bloodstain on the bathroom floor, though not entirely vanished, was faded out.

"Wow," Lenalee breathed, putting her bag down next to the door, "it looks amazing in here, Allen! Did you really clean this up by yourself?"

"It had to be a goddamn miracle." Kanda folded his arms across his chest, looking uninterested.

Allen chose to ignore the latter comment and wandered into the kitchen. He began filling the tea kettle with water. "Would anybody like tea? All I have is green right now, however. I keep forgetting to go to the store and getting some more, for which I apologize."

Lenalee took a seat at the kitchen table, appearing to be still awestruck. "I would. Kanda, do you remember the kitchen tiles being white? When did you install the new floor, Allen? I didn't think you had enough money for something like that."

He blinked, pausing to put the tea kettle on the burner, then sighed. "It was _always _white."

The water boiled while Allen claimed his seat opposite of Lenalee and next to Kanda. None of them spoke much; Lenalee occasionally brought up the recent homework load, which was higher than normal, before falling silent again and twirling one of her ponytails. Kanda continued to glare out the window. Allen kept checking the door, waiting for the familiar tint of red to pass through with a grin.

The tea kettle screamed, making him hurry to pour the scalding water into mugs.

"Ow! When did the door move?"

He jumped, almost startled, at Lavi's voice. The redhead grinned, hand feeling out objects as he moved along, his right eye covered with a patch of black. He still looked the same, with the same grin, same glint in his eye, but the eyepatch drew so much attention, like it was screaming "I have an impairment." If Lavi ever returned to school, he would be faced with so much ridicule from his fellow comrades. "Hey," he said, picking up one of the mugs of tea before chugging some of it. He blinked, then coughed." Hot! Allen, what're you trying to do, kill me?"

"I just finished that a few minutes ago!"

"You could've told me!" Lavi grinned before putting Allen in a headlock. "Did you miss me?"

Lenalee nodded. "Of course.

Kanda rolled his eyes. "Hell no."

"L-Let go of me, Lavi!" Allen struggled in a futile attempt to break free.

"Okay, okay." He reluctantly released Allen from his grip, then joined the group at the table, cracking his knuckles. "So, the good news is, the wound's not infected. The bad news is, there isn't any hope for my eye to recover." He shrugged. "Oh well. Guess I'll have to suffer becoming a tech instead of a soldier. Such a shame. So!" He poked Kanda, grin widening. "You got the goods for me, Yuu-chan?"

"Call me that one more time, and you'll lose more than just your eye, rabbit." Regardless, Kanda pulled the computer out of the bag and placed it on the table. Allen, after fixing his hair, brought the tea over and placed a mug in front of everyone, eying the piece of hardware wearily. Kanda sighed. "We went through hell getting this, so you better be able to get in and get those stupid-ass documents off of it."

Lavi picked up his tea and took a sip, then opened the computer up. "So it's a laptop, huh? These are even more rare than computers, since they were all confiscated by the government once the war started. I wonder how our general friend managed to get a hand on one of these." He put the mug down and pressed one of the buttons, which lit up a screen. Lenalee, Allen, and Kanda all huddled around Lavi, who blinked. "A password? Oh, please," he said while plucking a yellow sticky note off the side, "what's the point of having one if it's written on a note like this?"

With a few keystrokes, the laptop granted him access into the main screen. Strange icons made up the bottom bar, the one on the far left looking like a smiley face. Followed by that appeared to be a compass of some sort, a calendar, and several other strange mechanisms. He didn't understand any of them, so he was surprised when Lavi chuckled, moving a triangular arrow across the screen to click on something labeled "My Documents."

"So _this_ is a computer?" Lenalee poked the screen. "I've never seen one before. It seems so . . . so vibrant, colorful, and useful. Why wouldn't they want us to use these in battle?"

Lavi shrugged. "No clue. I just know they took them away. Whoa, look at this!"

The imaginary blue file labeled "My Documents" was open, revealing a plethora of files hidden within, all under a subtitle of ". doc" or ". word," or something of the like. Allen glanced at the bottom of the imaginary folder, reading the small print of, "1,206 items, 123.62 GB available." Allen stared at the screen, flabbergasted, as Lavi scrolled through the numerous amounts of files.

"Amazing," he said, sipping his tea. "Absolutely amazing. It's like an entire record of history hidden in this one folder. No wonder they didn't want anyone to access it. It's like a treasure trove! Let's see here, what do we want to start with first, you guys? Oh, hey, there's more folders within this folder! Uhm, "Student Directory," a "B.E. Era Documentation"—I want to check that one out later—and a "LVE" folder. Maybe the files they wanted recovered is in that one."

"Then open it already." Kanda sounded impatient.

"Hold on . . ." Lavi moved the triangular arrow onto the folder and clicked the weird pad below the keyboard, opening the file. "Oh, wow, I think this is it! It has those files, _Black Sheep,_ _LVE: The Drug and its Abusers_,and _Operation: Devil Pact._ Let's start with the last one."

"An operation, huh?" Lenalee tilted her head, leaning against Lavi's shoulder to get a better view of the screen. "Those are generally issued by the government as well. Normally, they're supposed to be in secret, so how come a general knew about it? That doesn't make any sense. Only the highest officials know about them."

"Devil Pact?" Allen frowned. "That does not sound very good. Perhaps it is about the experiments they do to those who break the law?"

"Ssh! It's loading." Lavi fidgeted in his seat, appearing unable to contain his excitement. "Man, I remember the days when I'd only dream about doing this shit, and now I'm actually doing it."

The file opened. Lavi cleared his throat. "Let's see here. '_Operation: Devil Pact,_ issue no. 1.8, to be used by government officials only. Copying without license will be treated with corporal punishment.' Ooh, this is good stuff, I can already feel it!"

Allen didn't feel the same, but Lavi resumed reading anyway. And kept going. And going.

Kept reading it aloud until he felt sick to his stomach.

x~X~x

"W-What," Lenalee stepped back from the screen, "did we just read?"

Kanda's eyes narrowed, still peering over Lavi's shoulder. "You know damn well what we just read, Lenalee. The seal is in the corner, too, so we can't just assume the general just whipped this up as a scare tactic. Besides, those bastards _killed_ him for finding this."

Lavi sat surprisingly still, eye fixed on the screen, mouth drawn into a thin line. His hand didn't move from the mouse, and his tea was seemingly forgotten, left to grow cold. "If this is true," he said, sweat rolling down the side of his face, "then maybe . . . maybe there isn't as much experimentation as we thought. Then again, it said 'randomly selected,' so . . . so maybe they pick amongst the soldiers in training to . . .? Oh, _hell,_ I'm gonna be sick."

Allen pushed himself away from the laptop, unable to hide his shaking. Lenalee wrapped her arms around him, as if in an attempt to comfort him, but nothing could comfort him now, not learning what he just learned. He swallowed hard, trying to forget, trying to let Lenalee's efforts not go to waste.

His arm laughed.

"_See what you got yourself into now?"_

x~X~x

**That took longer than anticipated. On the plus side, I'll get to eat this afternoon, so maybe I'll have enough energy to write the next chapter before, say, September. Hah hah . . . don't kill me, please. If you are willing, please, leave a review, telling me what you think. If not, that is fine as well. Thank you for reading, and see you in chapter six! —Nobody Odd**


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